The Next Episode
by regulusgal
Summary: Sequel to "True Reflection". Follow the next episode of Kyoko's journey in showbiz world! WARNING: A roller coaster ride involving paparazzi, super famous boyfriend, influential new guardian, a new manager, upcoming birthday, and a sudden letter from a Uehara Kento is expected along the way. Enjoy the ride!
1. Prologue -After True Reflection-

**Presenting the sequel of "True Reflection"... "The Next Episode". If you haven't read "True Reflection", I'd advise you to read it first before reading this story, or else you won't know what exactly is going on.**

**Special thanks for GinGitsuneIX for the cosplay idea used here. You suggested something futuristic, and this is what I came up with. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!, Buzz Lightyear, and the LGMs.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Prologue ~After True Reflection~

Akatoki Marina was tired, but she was happy beyond words.

First, she finally had had the chance to see a story she had written herself came to life, played by talented actors and actresses. That particular story had been so far her most favorite, and getting the first chance to get involved in the making of the video of it filled her heart with senses of pride and joy.

She was also thankful for Lory Takarada's cooperation for the project. Thanks to rumours surrounding a certain visual-kei singer under her company's wings, the good relationship between Akatoki Agency and LME had been somehow severed. Marina surely did not want to be an enemy of the eccentric man.

Not forgetting to mention that his taste on cosplays and grand entrance was one of Marina's sources of amusement and inspiration. She had almost laughed loudly to tears when she had seen Lory barging into one of Queen Records' many studios, dressed like Roman god Neptune and accompanied by nereid-like dancers.

The memories brought more ideas to her forever-working creativity. In her head, she could already picture the story of a young maiden forever trapped in the sea by the gods, unseen by other humans. Marina made a note to scribble the idea down on her notes as soon as she could reach her desk.

But the best thing of all was the fact that she had finally found Mogami Kyoko, the long lost daughter of her equally long lost dear cousin, Uehara Kento. To her delight, the girl had been a sweet, innocent girl that had grown into a refined actress.

Just one day working with her, and Marina already adored her like a daughter of her own that she could never have.

She took her phone out of her purse as the elevator ascended to her floor. Earlier, she had managed to have a photo together with Kyoko without the angel's make-up, revealing the actress' shoulder-length chestnut hair which complemented her small, pixie-like face and golden eyes, one of so many things the girl had inherited from her father.

A 'ding' chimed and the elevator's door slid open. Marina closed her phone with a clapping sound and put it back into her purse before stepping out of the metallic box. She walked in an easy pace towards her condominium, sometimes with unconscious bounces in her steps. She fished the pockets of her blazer for her card key and opened her door, her unoccupied hand groping the wall for the light switch.

Contrary to the fact that she was not married, Marina decided to leave Akatoki family's house and lived alone in this condominium she purchased with her own money. Being the vice-president of the second largest talent agency in Japan brought her lots of money, but she decided to leave all the management to Seijuro, her older brother and the president, and take nothing from the profit.

Instead, she lived from her writing. Marina often wrote as ghost writers for many children book illustrators, and had a lot of different pen names to publish her novels. Her books were selling well, and no one ever knew that Akatoki Marina was the one writing those different books.

She threw herself onto her favorite recliner, crossed her legs to take off her high heels, and after she was done with them, she just left them be on the floor next to her feet. She took the letters she had picked up beforehand from her mailbox and began sorting them. Most of them were bills for the condominium, and Marina had grown bored of them. She just skimmed through them and put the already read ones onto the coffee table, until her eyes stumbled upon an envelope with her name written in lopsided alphabets.

Marina knew this handwriting.

She quickly singled out the envelope, which was made of a thick, good-quality paper, and put the rest of the letters beside her on the recliner. She reached for a letter opener, an antique given to her as a memento from one of her lecturers when she had been to London, and with a swift move, opened the envelope to reveal two sheets of folded papers.

The woman opened one of them and was surprised to see graphite drawing of a narrow river with beautiful houses on one of its banks. The other bank was full with hydrangeas, and when Marina looked at the drawing once more in concentration, she could see tiny creatures with wings – fairies – flying around the flowers, dancing in glee.

Her suspicions were proven when she opened the other folded paper and looked at the signature at the bottom.

_Uehara Kento._

* * *

Tsuruga Ren could only frown in irritation as his manager, the light-brown-haired Yashiro Yukihito did not even make any attempt to school his snickers on the passenger seat beside him. He just groaned inwardly when he realized that he could guess correctly the cause of those snickers.

"It was a job," he snapped at the bespectacled man.

"Yes," Yashiro replied with his signature evil smirk. "But you still kissed. Ren and Kyoko-chan, sitting on a tree, K-I-S-..."

Ren purposefully let go of the steering wheel, making the car went straight to almost grazing the side curb nearest to the passenger side. The smirk on Yashiro's face instantly changed to the pale of dread.

The manager jumped on his seat towards the middle of the back seat, while Ren, pleased by the result, regained control of the car and steered it away from the pedestrian curb. He silently thanked the heavens that the street was empty.

"Ren!" Yashiro screamed. "What the hell did you think you were doing? Did you want to kill me?!"

His tall, handsome charge only gave him a smug smirk. "At this state, I might as well do anything to stop your ranting, especially that stupid song."

Yashiro only pouted. "Even though you must have been waiting for it for your whole life... Just admit it, Ren! You're happy that Kyoko-chan kissed you!"

"Whatever," Ren sighed, giving up. Yashiro threw him a 'I-can't-believe-this-guy' look, and leaned back to his seat.

"Now that I think of it," he then said suddenly, "where were you when I talked to the President?"

Ren stayed silent, and much to his dismay, the evil grin was back on his manager's face. "You were with Kyoko-chan, weren't you?" Yashiro asked slyly.

"No comment."

"Tch, what a boring man, you are," Yashiro pouted. "Come on, you know you can always confide in Big Brother here."

Ren groaned. "And let you tease me to no end with it? Never."

"So something did happen!" the fair-headed man squealed. Ren could only sweat-drop at that. "What? Did she kiss you and say 'I love you'?"

_What is this man? Psychic?_ Ren thought in disbelief. _How did he know exactly what happened? Wait; maybe it's just a random guess. Don't admit it, and it'll be fine._

"Ah, Ren, you're not saying anything. So I'll take it that that's what really happened when you were alone with Kyoko while I was talking to the President? Oh, I'm so happy for you, slowpoke."

Ren did not answer. He just stared at the road in front of him. _Damn you, Yashiro-san._

* * *

Expecting to be greeted by a barrage of nereids like the ones in the Queen Records' studio, Mogami Kyoko was speechless when she found herself stepping into what seemed like a spaceship control room.

More to her surprise, instead of the beautiful nereids, she was greeted by short people dressing up as green aliens with antennas on their heads and three wide eyes dressed in blue uniforms. They grabbed her hands and dragged her into the 'control room' with movements not unlike penguins.

Kyoko could not utter any single word when at the middle of the room, she was face to face with Lory Takarada, the president of Lory Majestic Entertainment (or LME for short), dressed tightly in a bulky astronaut suit.

"Err... President?" Kyoko greeted him hesitantly. When the man raised an eyebrow and did not answer, she raked her brain for childhood memories and then mumbled, "Captain Buzz Lightyear?"

"Yes, Cadet?" Lory answered, his voice muffled by the statics of the microphone transmission.

Her attention was briefly turned to the short, green, three-eyed aliens – whom she remembered were called the Little Green Men – bringing the two of them chairs. Kyoko instantly wondered how her employer had found these people and managed to convince them to dress like that.

Lory cleared his throat to gain her attention back, and when she saw him raising one inquiring eyebrow, she stammered. "Err... Yashiro-san told me... that you wanted to talk to me... Captain?"

The man smiled in satisfaction while giving the girl a thumbs-up. "That's right," he said. "But, first, please sit down, Cadet."

Not knowing what else to do, but finding the whole situation a bit too awkward for her liking, Kyoko sat down on one of the chairs gingerly while Lory literally brought all of his weight – including the weight of the space suit – down onto the too small chair. He pushed a button and his glass helmet slid down to his back and Kyoko could not help but wonder again about the cost of that space suit.

She was sure that how much the cost was, the nominal would surely make her best friend, Kotonami Kanae, gag in disgust.

"First thing, Mogami-kun, good job on the project!" Lory beamed at her with glossy eyes. "I could certainly feel the love, even only from the footages taken by Yashiro-kun."

Kyoko smiled and bowed on her seat. "Thank you very much for the praise, President."

"Especially the love confession scene!"

She blushed heavily, remembering the way she had gone out of character and confessed her real feeling as Mogami Kyoko to her boyfriend in the middle of acting.

Lory grinned widely. "That, and added with the fact that you and Ren are already an item," – Kyoko's blush darkened ten shades of red – "bring me to the conclusion that you are ready to graduate from LoveMe Department."

Silence ensued as Kyoko processed what Lory had said. When the idea finally stuck to her mind, she let out a _very_ loud scream.

"EEEHHH?!"

* * *

"He let you graduate?" Kuon repeated with a big smile.

He had just got back from dropping Yashiro off at his apartment to LME just to pick up Kyoko before heading to his condominium apartment for dinner. At the moment they were side by side in his car, only separated by the hand brake and the console. However, that did not stop Kuon from grasping Kyoko's hands with one of his own while he managed to drive only with one hand.

His girlfriend nodded timidly with a light blush decorating her face. Kuon's smile widened to form a grin. "Congratulations, then!"

"Not that easy, Kuon," Kyoko mumbled. "The President of course saw it appropriate for me to graduate, but there's still the issue of me not having guardian's permission to debut."

Kuon sighed sadly for her. "Can't the couple from the restaurant sign it for you?"

The girl shook her head. "They're not my legal guardians. The one who had the legal rights to sign it for me will be my mother or Shotaro's parents."

_And they're all out of the picture_, Kuon thought grimly. "What about your father?"

"Kuon, he's been missing since before I was even born," she grumbled. "It'll be a real miracle if he suddenly pops out and sign it with a huge smile. He might not even know I'm his daughter; no, scratch that, from the looks of it he even doesn't know he has a daughter."

At that moment, Kuon could swear that he sensed, for the umpteenth time today, black ghostly aura swirling above Kyoko's head. Suddenly, her body rocked violently as if she was vibrating, which he interpreted as the fact that her mobile phone was ringing.

Kyoko fished in her purse for her phone – with now the picture of her, Kanae, and Marina as the wallpaper – and looked at the caller ID. She hesitated on the receiving button.

Noticing this, Kuon brought the car into a parking position on the left side of the road and leaned closer to the passenger seat to have a peak at her phone. "Who is it?" he asked curiously.

His anger flared quickly when his eyes saw 'Unknown Number' on the screen. He narrowed his eyes for a moment in irritation, trying to calm his rage down and rationalize his thoughts, before taking deep breaths and said in a low, hesitant voice. "Answer it."

Kyoko spun her head to his direction and stared at him as if he had just said the dumbest thing ever.

"It's okay, Kyoko, just answer it. If it's that damn brat, I'll deal with it."

After convincing herself that her boyfriend was as calm as he could possibly be regarding the situation, Kyoko pushed the green button on her phone and brought it to her ear. Upon hearing the caller's voice, her stiff back immediately relaxed.

"Good evening, may I speak to Mogami Kyoko-san? This is Akatoki Marina speaking."

Kyoko smiled. "Akatoki-san? Good evening."

"Ah, Kyoko-san. I am not disturbing anything, aren't I?" Marina's voice had a hint of worry in it.

"No, not at all!" Kyoko glanced at Kuon who had also relaxed a bit. "So, how can I help you?"

Marina was quiet, before her voice was heard again. "You may not believe this, but I just received a letter from Kento."

Kyoko's mind went blank in an instant.

* * *

Marina sighed at her phone. After she had been met by silence from her distant niece, Tsuruga Ren had taken over the phone and said that Kyoko needed time to process whatever it was Marina had told her and promised the older woman that Kyoko would call back the next morning.

_Is it that surprising? _Marina wondered, tapping her pointer finger on her chin. She took another glance at Kento's letter once again, and let out another sigh. _He is just unbelievable. I cannot wait for the moment where I meet him face to face and have a chance to strangle this fool._

Her mobile phone buzzed, and she picked it up only to find her brother's caller ID on the screen. She frowned, reminded of the bitter truth she had found out during the shoot the earlier afternoon, and pushed the button with a bit more strength than needed.

"How may I help you, Brother?"

She could sense Seijuro taken aback by her harsh tone. "Marina? Are you... angry?"

"Yes. In fact, I am currently displeased at you. But alas, you are calling at a very good time. I have something to tell you."

"Can it wait?" Seijuro asked in a rush. "This is urgent."

Marina's ears perked in interest, her anger at her brother was pushed down to the back of her mind. "Did something happen, Brother?"

"The editor of Hinokuni Shinbun called just now. And, dear sister, I believe we have a problem."

* * *

**Two major problems posed in one prologue chapter... I wonder whether I'm rushing things...**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	2. Urgent Situation -Meet the Uncle-

**Thank you for all of you who read, followed, favorited, and reviewed the first chapter. I noticed some followers of "True Reflection" also followed and favorited this story. You guys made me so loved :)**

**And also, thank you for the ideas for Lory's cosplays! I'll make sure to put them for good use.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 2: Urgent Situation ~Meet the Uncle~

Kyoko slowly opened her eyes to see rays of sunlight seeping through the closed curtain. She was lying down on her futon in her room at Daruma-ya, covered up with a thick blanket. In her grasp was Corn's stone, glistening beautifully against the little light in the room.

After the phone call from Marina last night – which had been taken over by Kuon much to her relief – he had driven her home in silence, waiting for her to talk to him about it patiently. But even until they had reached the restaurant, Kyoko had not said anything, leaving him with the impression that she had been still trying to get a grasp on whatever had been happening. Kuon had left after kissing her on her forehead and begging her to give him and Marina a call in the morning.

Her thoughts could not help but wander back to what Marina had told her on the phone. The older woman, her aunt she had just found out she had, had mentioned a letter from Kento.

Uehara Kento. Her father, who had been missing for 18 years. Kyoko squinted her eyes close, not able to think about the man without feeling hurt.

That was when she noticed the pretty loud noise of people chattering outside. At first she thought it was the noise of Daruma-ya's patrons coming to get breakfast, but a glance at the time on her phone told her otherwise. Kyoko frowned.

_The restaurant isn't supposed to be open yet_, she thought. _Then, what's that noise?_

Her phone vibrated just a second after that. Kyoko quickly looked at the phone and pushed the button. "Mogami speaking."

"Mogami-kun!" Lory's booming baritone voice was heard. "Where are you now?"

_He seems frantic. Now this is new_, Kyoko thought. "I'm in my room at Daruma-ya. Do you need me for something, President?"

"Is there any reporter there?"

Kyoko was gob smacked. "Eh?" She was quickly reminded of the loud noise, and instantly bolted to her window and opened her curtain.

The scene below her window was something she had never imagined to happen on her door. Reporters, journalists, and cameramen, at least 20 people in minimal total, were swarming right on the restaurant's entrance.

Met by Kyoko's awkward silence, Lory's voice was heard again. "Is there any other exit path at your place?"

"Well," the girl stuttered, "there is a back door at the kitchen…"

"I'll send someone to pick you up, so wait at the back door. Until then, don't you dare even step one foot outside your house. You get it, Mogami-kun?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Good. I'll see you soon." With that, the call was cut off.

Kyoko hastily grabbed whatever clothes from her small wardrobe and dashed to the bathroom to clean up. After that, while going over her schedule for the day, which actually consisted only of LoveMe work at LME, she walked back to her bedroom to fold her futon up and take her bag before going downstairs.

She was met by the worried and inquiring gazes of her landlords. The Taisho stood behind the counter with a frown, while the Okami was beside her in an instant.

"Kyoko-chan, what happened?" the plump elderly asked.

The girl could only shake her head. "I don't know either, Okami-san. But I guess it's related to the call from President earlier."

A honk was heard from the back door. Kyoko and the Taisho exchanged wary glances, before the gruff man strode to the kitchen to take a look. He then went back to inform her that her ride might have just arrived.

Kyoko opened the back door to stand face to chest with a dark-skinned, long-black-haired man she recognized as Sebastian – well, she did not know exactly what his name was, but calling him like the multitalented butler in a popular manga and anime she knew of seemed appropriate enough, and the man had not refused to be called with that name so far. From his position – one of his hand was frozen with his knuckle near the door until she opened it – Kyoko could guess that he was just about to knock.

"Good morning, Mogami-sama." Sebastian bowed to her, making her blush. "The President has instructed me to bring you to the office."

Kyoko nodded her head, and after saying goodbye to the couple, she got into the attention-attracting golden limousine – Lory's favorite – with Sebastian and was driven off to LME.

* * *

The heavy atmosphere in the large office told Kyoko that the situation at hand was indeed very serious.

Ren hurriedly got up from his seat and ran towards her. It took Kyoko quite some time to calm him down and convince him that she was fine, and only after that Ren released her from his embrace to circle one arm around her shoulder and led her to one of the couch.

Lory was sitting on the couch Ren led her to. It looked like that he did not want to joke around, from the way he was dressed almost civilly in black tuxedo and white cravat. However, Kyoko soon realized that it was yet another costume of the cosplay-lover man when she caught a glimpse of a white mask in his hand.

Facing the phantom, Marina, wearing a beige suite over a cotton turtleneck sweater, sat on the other couch, totally furious. It made Kyoko wonder if her boss had done something to upset her aunt, which was not impossible. The woman was frowning deeply, as if glaring at someone.

Next to her, sat a man Kyoko did not recognize. He was tall, although not as tall as Lory or Ren, with black hair that was swept back tidily and well-shaven face. He looked slightly older than Marina, but still in his 40s. Dressed smartly in white shirt, grey suit, and maroon necktie, the man showed elegance but not as flamboyant as Lory. He stood up when he noticed Kyoko and Ren walking towards them.

"And this must be the Kyoko we were talking about!" he said with an easy smile. He offered his right hand to Kyoko. "Akatoki Seijuro. You might've heard about me from Marina, if she's ever mentioned me before."

Startled at the man's sudden introduction, Kyoko hesitantly shook his hand before bowing down. "Mogami Kyoko. It is nice to meet you. May I assume that you are Akatoki-san's older brother?"

Seijuro laughed. "Yes, yes, I'm the older brother," he replied. "But you're more than welcome to call me Uncle, though."

Kyoko could only laugh warily. Ren squeezed her hand lightly to with a grin of his own to relax her and brought her to sit down next to Lory before sitting down at her other side.

That was when she saw the bottle blonde singer slumped next to Marina. Fuwa Sho, much to her surprise, did not dress up in his usual visual-kei style. _What's he doing here?_ She thought. Kyoko dared a glance from the corner of her eyes at her boyfriend, and was not surprised to find him glaring a death threat at the boy.

"Okay," Lory began, straightening up. "Mogami-kun, have you read this morning's newspaper?"

Not understanding what her employer was talking about, Kyoko shook her head. Lory pursed his lips for a while before taking a marked newspaper from the coffee table and gave it to Kyoko.

Her eyes widened when she saw the headline of the gossip column.

* * *

_**LOVE CONFESSION FOR THE ANGEL!  
**__By: Sanada Mikako_

_Rock singer Fuwa Sho has declared himself not available for love confessions, as he himself is declaring his own to his co-star in 'Prisoner', KYOKO._

_In the personal interview with Fuwa, he admitted that his newest single, 'True Reflection', was meant to be a love declaration for the actress playing the angel who killed the demon he played. Also, KYOKO has been officially announced to have agreed to reprise her role of the fallen angel for the still unreleased promotional video of the single._

_An anonymous source mentioned the relationship of Fuwa and KYOKO, stating that they were childhood friends. KYOKO, born Mogami Kyoko, was abandoned by her mother when she was 8 years old, and since then had lived together with Fuwa and his parents. A plan of marriage between Fuwa and KYOKO was also mentioned to be a definite case in the near future._

_Up to this moment, there is no official statement from Lory's Majestic Entertainment and KYOKO in regards to Fuwa's statement._

* * *

"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?" Kyoko and her little grudges screamed, shivering in fury and disgust, while Ren had to do his best to reign Kuon in so that he did not commit a bloody murder.

Marina shrugged her shoulder while trying to bore a hole into Sho's head with her narrow glare. "I want to know the answer myself. That is why we brought this git over here."

"ATTACK!" the head grudge shouted. In an instant, there was an unexplainable explosion in the large room, causing several dents to form on the ceiling and walls. All people in the room were agape, staring at Kyoko who currently had a demonic look on her face.

She stood up, strode her way to Sho, and yanked him up by her collar. "Why is it implied that we're engaged, you pig head?" she growled angrily.

"But it's the truth, you know?" Sho spat back. "You were arranged to marry me, anyway. What's the harm of announcing it?"

Kyoko groaned in agony. "First, Shotaro, we've never had any romantic relationship. Second, I'm currently seeing somebody who is definitely not you."

Sho could feel an invisible arrow shot through his heart.

"Third, I've never heard about marriage from your parents."

"You were trained the tea ceremony by my mother. That's only for Okami and _future_ Okami to do," Sho counter-attacked. "Isn't that proof enough?"

Kyoko's eyes got narrower. "And why are you bringing this up now? You don't want to marry me, anyway."

"Kyoko, you're supposed to be mine!" Sho snapped. "Is it wrong for me to try to get you back to my side?"

"Then why did you dump me in the first place?" Kyoko retorted with a sarcastic tone.

Before Sho was able to say anything else, Seijuro stood up from the couch with a wary smile. "Now, now," he said. "Why don't we all just calm down and discuss this in a more civilized manner rather than just engaging in a shouting competition?"

Kyoko threw another glare to Sho before going back to her seat next to Ren. Her grudges, which had come back from their recent attempt to harm the teenage boy, swirled around him, captivated by the Demon Lord. She, on the other hand, gulped audibly.

After Sho and Seijuro sat back down, the older Akatoki took a sip of his tea before speaking up again. "So yes, Kyoko-chan, we're here to apologize to you for causing you so much discomfort. And also, to discuss the countermeasures necessary."

"We have to arrange immediate press-conference," Marina mumbled. "Someone has to make a clear statement about things; preferably Kyoko-san. The childhood, the abandonment, the marriage–"

"What about the paparazzi?" Ren asked, cutting Marina off when she was about to continue with the topic he dreaded the most. "There's no way they'll back off just because we tell them there'll be official statement."

Lory nodded while focusing his gaze at the Akatoki siblings. "He got a point. Since Mogami-kun's debuting soon, I think it's appropriate to assign a manager that can act as a bodyguard for her. We also have to consider her accommodation."

Kyoko lifted her head in surprise and frowned. "But I love living at Daruma-ya!"

"But it's no longer safe, my dear," Seijuro said patiently. "If I'm not mistaken, it's a restaurant right? Public places for home, a big no-no."

"Besides," Ren added, rubbing her arm to comfort her, "think about how Taisho and Okami-san might be discomforted because of their presence. Those reporters are persistent bastards, Kyoko, and I doubt they will go leave Daruma-ya just because it's bedtime."

Kyoko was still against the idea, but no longer protested, as she could not find any other argument to present to Ren and the others.

"We need to find some place with high security…" Marina drifted off.

Sho glanced around from person to person nervously – clearly feeling a bit guilty, just a bit – and mumbled, "If I may give a suggestion–"

"No," Marina snapped harshly. "You, young man, have talked too much for your own good. Now be silent like a good boy and sit tight."

It was an absolute command. Sho could not help but cowering in his seat, and Ren had to use all his might to contain his smirk when he saw that.

"I know!" Lory exclaimed in a eureka moment. "We can have Ren marry Mogami-kun, and prove that the arranged marriage was invalid. And that'll solve the housing problem as well."

Seijuro and Marina stared at him as if their flamboyant friend's eccentricity had gone past the level of insanity. "No," Seijuro shook his head. "Actually, I was about to suggest to hide their relationship for a while. With the arranged marriage known by public, if we suddenly announce that Kyoko-chan and Tsuruga-kun are dating, it might ruin her reputation. People might think she's a floozy or something."

Lory hated to admit that his rival was right.

"Now that you mention marriage," Marina spoke up while taking out a piece of paper from her purse. "Takarada-san, you mentioned about Kyoko-san debuting soon. But I believe that there are some legal issues left to be solved, am I correct?"

The phantom just nodded in curiosity. Marina smiled and said, "I think I have the solution for that problem here."

She spread the paper on the coffee table for everyone to see. Kyoko soon figured out that it was a letter written in an elegant script.

* * *

_Dear Seijuro or Marina (whichever of you who's reading this at the moment),_

_First of all, I think I'll just introduce myself again, as I just realized that we've never been in contact for… I don't know, 10 years? May be more. Oh well, this is Kento writing for you from… I think you'll know from the stamp._

_And I'm writing this because… How to say this? I left years ago to escape my problems caused by… you know who. It still pains me whenever her name's mentioned, even by my own mouth. And when I thought about it; perhaps the fault was with me. So I decided to travel the world as a self-discovery journey, along with the means to look for more inspiration for my muse… You do realize I need them for living, don't you? And don't you dare call me pathetic; I'm just melancholic._

_Anyway, I'm rambling here. Let's just say that I think my journey has come to an end and I finally deem myself ready to come back and face my problems. I know she won't forgive me easily; hell, you might as well want to scream bloody murder at me, but at least I want to try to face it by the new self I've discovered in me._

_I'm pretty sure that you guys are so kind that you keep track of her and, may be, our child. I'll be staying at Osaka for a while for an art exhibition (my works are being displayed there) before going to Tokyo for good._

_Just expect me soon on your doors._

_Your cousin,_

_Uehara Kento_

_P.S.: I think there's something wrong with my feelings, or they're may be playing pranks at me, but the fairies told me to grant you the rights of guardianship for my child in case something happens._

* * *

Seijuro laughed heartily while Sho and the three people from LME were in the middle of trying to digest things. A while later, Ren had to struggle to stiffle his laughter, making Kyoko glared at him. On the other hand, Marina was not entirely happy.

The president of Akatoki Agency took some moment to calm himself down before going down with tears and aching ribs from his laughter. "I have no more doubt; this is Kento alright!"

"18 years and he only sent this," Marina grumbled. "Furthermore, it was just his way to prepare us for his return. I swear to the heavens, the first time I catch sight of his face, I will definitely tackle and strangle him to death."

"Now, now, Marina," Seijuro grinned while patting her sister on the shoulder. "We still need him alive."

Lory closed his eyes and rubbed his temple in circles with his knuckle. "So the parent has granted you the guardianship over Mogami-kun, if this letter proves to be true?"

"I believe that is correct," the younger Akatoki said curtly. "And after a discussion between my brother and I, it is decided that the one taking responsibility of Moga– I mean Kyoko-san, will be me. And it brings us to the solution for Kyoko-san's accommodation issues."

"You want her to move in with you," Ren speculated, raising an eyebrow.

Marina nodded. "Although there will be issues about why Kyoko-san chose LME to work at in the first place rather than Akatoki Agency, it can be solved if we manage to give the press a good enough answer to quench their curiosity. I am not against her moving in with Tsuruga-san," she looked at Ren pleadingly, "but she is still a high school student and underage. It might ruin not only Kyoko-san's reputation, but also Tsuruga-san's, and we do not want more problems to arise."

"I don't understand," Sho finally found the courage to speak up, making everyone turn their heads to look at him. "This Uehara Kento – he granted you guardianship of his child. Why does this involve Kyoko? And anyway, scandals between her and this man," he pointed at Ren in disdain, "is of Akatoki's concern, right?"

Seijuro and Marina speechlessly looked at each other before addressing their employee. "I can't believe you don't catch the bait, Sho-kun," Seijuro said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Sho had to control himself to not punch his boss in the face.

"Mogami Kyoko here," Marina said slowly, pushing her patience to the limit, "is the daughter of Uehara Kento, our cousin. This means that she is our distant niece, a family. We do not want anything to tarnish our family's dignity, and that involves scandals."

Ren basked himself in a smug glee as he enjoyed the view of Sho's face draining of its color, and he cursed himself inwardly for not bringing a camera to capture this moment.

But then, Kyoko's problem had been the first priority.

He turned to look at his lovely girlfriend, who seemed to be in the middle of weighing her options. "Kyoko," he whispered, gaining her attention. "They're doing everything they can, and I think what they offer is the best course of actions we can have so far."

Kyoko looked at his eyes deeply for assurance before lowering her head in defeat. She sighed, "Let me tell my landlord first."

"Yes, you do that," Lory said in sympathy. He knew how his favorite LoveMe member was very attached to the elderly couple. "In the meanwhile, I'll arrange you a manager as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning at the latest, I hope."

"And you can talk to me when you want to move in, so I can arrange my schedule to help you through it," Marina added with a soft smile for Kyoko.

The teenage girl was on the verge of crying. "Why are you so kind to me?" she asked. "We barely know each other."

"Non-sense," Seijuro replied as he and his sister approached her to envelope her in a hug. "You're Kento's kid, a family; that's enough reason."

* * *

**Nothing is known about the president of Akatoki Agency, so I created this OC, Akatoki Seijuro, to play the role. Because Marina is serious and motherly in nature but a bit Shakespearian, and Kento is all 'going-on-my-own-pace' with inability to anchor himself entirely in reality (with his ability to see and communicate with fairies), I figure that it will be nice if Seijuro is a friendly, happy-go-lucky sort of guy with a lot of common sense.**

**And this is my first time writing a gossip column! What do you guys think?**

**Now that Kento has made a sort of appearance, someone that some of you might not like will make an appearance and make everything more topsy-turvy. Stay tuned!**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	3. Another Beginning -Farewell, Daruma-ya-

**First of all, thank you for everyone who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters! I'll strive to do the best I can!**

**Special thanks to muchachomomo for the cosplay idea used in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

**A/N: Edited because of the biggest, crucial typo**

* * *

Chapter 3: Another Beginning ~Farewell, Daruma-ya~

Uehara Kento was finally home.

Well, not exactly home. But he felt like he was.

Although he had been born and raised in Tokyo, he just could not help but relish the feeling of standing on the soil of his homeland. It had been so long since he last had been in Japan, and he had never been back ever since.

The golden-eyed man was now waiting for his luggage at Kansai International Airport after getting off the flight he had caught from Singapore, and before that he had stayed several nights in New Zealand. He had been thinking of visiting Indonesia for a few days, but the faes he had met at Mona Vale had urged him to go back to Japan as soon as possible.

What exactly was on their sharp mind, he did not know.

But as always, he had decided to believe in them – the faes had never betrayed him so far – and sent a letter to his dear cousin, Akatoki Marina. While he had been in the middle of writing his letter, an elf had whispered to him with a big smile that perhaps he should write about granting guardianship of his child.

They even had made a notion about the child being a beautiful female princess.

A thought of the fairies had gone crazy had crossed his mind that time, but as usual, he had just dismissed it as their urges to play harmless pranks on humans.

Not that they had known that the mention of his beloved or his child hurt him more than physical injuries.

Kento spotted his simple brown luggage on the conveyor belt and quickly grabbed and steered it to go through the custom. Along the way, he saw an elderly man reading a newspaper. The artist smiled at the older person's tranquil expression as he flipped the papers.

He suddenly felt blood draining from his face as he noticed one of the two big pictures with big headline on the newspaper. It was a girl with striking resemblance with him; black hair, small pixie-like face, and most important of all, golden eyes.

_The fairies may have been right after all_, he thought, not knowing whether to be happy that his most loyal friends had never lied to him or to be distraught over the thought of that woman and their child.

* * *

Kyoko spent the rest of that day with the people from both LME's and Akatoki Agency's Public Relation Department, being briefed for the upcoming press conference as response to the rather disturbing article.

Before the meeting at Lory's office had been dismissed, it had been decided to hold the press conference at one of Lory's houses for convenience. Aside from Kyoko, Lory as the president of LME would be present, together with Seijuro as the president of Akatoki Agency and, much to Kyoko's and Ren's dismay, Shotaro.

Because the article had mentioned the issues of Kyoko's abandonment by her mother during her childhood, Lory saw it appropriate for Kyoko to tell the PR as much details about it as what she saw fit. This, of course, did not sit really well with Ren.

"You don't have to tell them everything," he said to Kyoko before they had parted.

"I know," Kyoko had replied, squeezing his hand gently. "But we really have to know which part of my childhood is beneficial to us and which one is not; for that, I have to tell them almost everything. But of course, I won't tell them about you."

He had smiled gratefully at her before leaning in to press his lips against hers for a chaste kiss.

When the PR was done with Kyoko, it was almost dinner time. She got out of the room only to meet face to face with Sho.

A vein popped out on her forehead. "What do you want, Shotaro?" she asked, not trying to hide her anger.

"Nothing," he replied nonchalantly. "Just wanna say that I'm not sorry. You're still mine and will always be. You'll be back by my side in no time, we'll see."

And with that he walked away, leaving her speechless.

* * *

"He said that, huh?" Kuon repeated in a dangerous low voice.

Kyoko grimaced in her seat. He scoffed. "I'd like to see him try."

"Kuon," she warned. "Don't even think about it."

"Think about what?"

"You want to beat him to death, right?" Kyoko asked sharply.

He raised an eyebrow. "So you want me to do that?"

"Of course not!" she snapped. Her irritation grew when Kuon chuckled. "And don't laugh as if it's an idle matter, Mister! This is really serious!"

"I know," he said with a small grin, trying to tone down her temper. "Alright, I promise I won't do anything unless he does something to hurt you in any way. By the way, we're almost at your place."

Kyoko glanced at the windshield and realized that he was right. From a bit afar, she could see the back entrance of Daruma-ya. She clenched her fists nervously on her knees.

Kuon looked at her fidgety body next to him in sympathy. "You're telling them tonight?"

"I have to. We can't stall it," she replied with determination in her voice. "The President's right; as long as I stay here, reporters will hound the restaurant, even after the rumors die down. I can inconvenience them further as it is."

He reached for her hands and squeezed them slightly.

"I'll go in with you."

* * *

The elderly couple was more than surprised when their Kyoko, holding hands with Tsuruga Ren, told them that she was moving out.

The Taisho was the first one to speak after their young lodger had dropped the bomb. "Did you sleep together?"

Much to his relief, Kyoko's face blushed a deep red as she shook her head rapidly and flailed her arms around in denial. "No, Taisho, that's impossible! There's no way Ren-san and I–"

"But aren't you dating?" Okami asked. "And it's not impossible with youngsters nowadays–"

"It's not like that, Sir, Madam," Ren cut in as he could see killing intent on the older man's face. "I can swear and promise you that we're going to wait until marriage, which will still be in a long time. I love and respect Kyoko so much I won't do anything to bring shame to her."

"Then what's with the reporter?" Taisho barked angrily. "They spotted you together, didn't they?"

Kyoko decided to step in before Ren could say anything. "Taisho, it's not about Ren's and my relationship. It's just that someone has spread a rumor about me regarding the latest work I did."

Her foster parents let out a sigh, but she could notice that Taisho was still uneasy.

"Then, Kyoko-chan," Okami called her, "when you said that you were moving out from here, are you going to move in with Tsuruga-san?"

Kyoko shook her head slowly. "I also want to talk about that. This morning I found out that I have a legal guardian."

This perked the couple's interest. They had known that Kyoko came from Kyoto, so they had thought that her parents and guardians resided in the ancient capital. But as far as they recalled, those people were never mentioned by the girl.

"Ah," Kyoko gasped, taking in their puzzled expression. "This one is appointed by my father. She's my father's cousin, and has agreed to take complete responsibility over me. I'm going to take her offer on moving in with her."

"But, Kyoko-chan," Okami spoke again, "didn't you say that you didn't have a father?"

Ren answered for his girlfriend, "We just received a letter from him yesterday."

The room was silent again as Taisho and Okami looked at each other with contemplation. Ren could understand their worries; Kyoko was like their own daughter. It suddenly pained him when his thoughts wander to his parents. His father had mentioned that his mother had missed him so much when they last met face to face on the end of last year, and he still felt guilty over the fact that he had saddened them a lot.

"Kyoko-chan," Okami said. "If you think that this's the best we all can do to make sure you're safe, then do it. But just remember," she paused to sniff and hold her tears back, "you're always welcome whenever you want to come back."

Kyoko could not hold back her tears as she hugged the plump woman who embraced her lovingly together with her husband.

* * *

"So when are you going to move in to Marina-chan's place?" Lory asked, only to see his favorite LoveMe member gawking at him.

In confusion, he stared down at his metallic purple shirt, pants, and tailcoat. His shoes were shiny black. A purple silk top hat was on his head. So far, he found nothing weird from his attire-of-the-day. He once again tried to trail Kyoko's sight and immediately noticed the presence of one Oompa Loompa beside him, serving his tea.

He turned back to the young girl and asked innocently, "Do you want to hug him?"

That quickly snapped Kyoko out of her trance. She shook her head as she answered in panic, "No, Sir! Absolutely no, Sir!"

"Aw, that's cruel," Lory faked a sad expression on his face, making Kyoko fall into instant guilt. "You hurt this guy here, you know."

"I'M SO TERRIBLY SORRY!" the girl launched herself into a dogeza. Lory was not the least bit surprised. Working together with her and watching her growth in the showbiz for about one and a half year had made him used to her amusing antics.

Well, he enjoyed it anyway.

"Apology accepted, Mogami-kun. Now if you'll just get back to your seat, I believe we have something very important to discuss." He picked up his cup of tea and sipped from it as Kyoko got up from the floor and sat back onto her chair.

Sure that the girl was calm and gave all of her attention to him, Lory repeated his question. "So when are you moving in to Marina-chan's place?"

"This afternoon," she replied. "I have discussed this with Aka– Marina-san, and she said that she would be available today. She's going to help me with packing all my things and then we'll go to her place by her car."

_Correction_, Kyoko grimaced in her mind, _Marina-san's helping me with the packing and then we'll load everything into Ren-san's trunk before going to her place._

"Do you need any other help?" the flamboyant man asked with sincere concern.

Kyoko could not help but smile. "Everything's under control, Sir."

"Are the reporter's still there?"

"There were still some this morning, but the number was lesser compared to yesterday."

"That's good," Lory sighed, leaning back on his chair. A knock on the door was heard, and he said loudly, "Come in!"

Two Oompa Loompas opened the doors to reveal a man about Yashiro's age, dressed in a simple beige suit and white shirt. His hair was chocolate brown and short-cropped, ending around his nape. For Kyoko's standard, he was good-looking in overall.

Not that this man could defeat Kuon in any aspect.

Lory stood up to shake the stranger's hand in a professional manner. "Great timing, Yoshimoto-kun," he grinned. "Come sit down while I introduce you to your new charge."

Kyoko stared at the man as he took the empty seat beside her. _His new charge? But there's no one else but me and the president here. Don't tell me…?_

"Mogami-kun," she heard Lory's baritone. "May I introduce you to Yoshimoto Tsukumo-kun. He will take responsibility over your schedule and safety when you're on set."

They finally looked at each other's face for Kyoko to see his rather silvery eyes. He stood up from his chair and offered her a hand. "Yoshimoto Tsukumo," he said, bowing a little. "I hope we can work well from now on."

Kyoko hurriedly stood up as well and shook his offered hand. "Mogami Kyoko. I'll be counting on you."

"Now that introduction's over," Lory spoke, "Let's go over some details first. Yoshimoto-kun's duty is to arrange your work schedule and act as your bodyguard when you work. He will be driving you to and from work as well."

"I understand," Kyoko said.

"And Yoshimoto-kun, after this, you'll go to Sawara-kun's office to take over the details of Mogami-kun's works."

"Yes, Sir," Yoshimoto replied curtly. "Is there anything else, President?"

"You'll also go to PR after that to take the details of the press conference two days from now."

"Understood, Sir."

Lory turned his gaze towards Kyoko. "Don't forget to exchange phone numbers and email address, okay, you two?"

"President!" Kyoko yelled, blushing deeply. Lory just chuckled, while Yoshimoto looked unfazed by the suddenly awkward situation.

"Alright. You're dismissed."

* * *

Ren was more than happy that it was his day off. After the whole fiasco caused by the d***** excuse of a brat he so passionately hated, all he needed was just a moment of peace with his beloved sweetheart.

He arrived at Daruma-ya's back entrance earlier than expected and went in to greet the Taisho, who apparently was in the middle of sharpening his kitchen knives. He smiled warily at the restaurant owner, fearing for his life, and strode upstairs unnoticed by the restaurant patrons to Kyoko's room.

There, he saw Kyoko and Marina sealing boxes with tapes on the floor. The posters – his and the prick's – were already down, and the futon was already stored inside the wardrobe, leaving the room very bare.

Before he stepped in, he could catch Marina's voice. "Takarada-san has found you a manager? That is fast."

"Yes," Kyoko replied. "His name's Yoshimoto Tsukumo, and… I don't know. I haven't spent much time with him, but he was rather… Stiff?"

_Yoshimoto Tsukumo_, Ren repeated in his mind, raking his memories for the familiar name. He quickly remembered that Yashiro had once mentioned a 'Yoshimoto Tsukumo' as one of his classmate during his college time, and that they had been good friends.

Although the fact that Yashiro and the new manager were acquaintances and Yoshimoto thus could be trusted, it still left an unsettling feeling in Ren's chest. _Oh great_, he thought, _now I'm jealous of somebody I've never met before._

He decided to just stop with his own thoughts and walked into the room, gaining the attention of the two ladies. "Good afternoon, Akatoki-san, Kyoko."

"Good afternoon to you, Tsuruga-san," Marina replied with a gentle smile. "I do think it will be good if you address me with my given name, though. You also know my older brother, and it will be troublesome when the two of us are in the same room."

"That's true," Ren mumbled, contemplating it. "Well then, Marina-san. Kyoko, is everything ready to be brought downstairs?"

"Let me check," the chestnut-haired girl scanned the room once again, making sure that she did not leave anything. She sighed sadly, "I guess that's it. I'm going to miss this place."

Marina put her hand on her niece's shoulder. "I'm sure you will, and they will miss you too," she murmured sofly.

Ren looked at Kyoko with a small, sad smile of his own before getting to lifting the boxes out of the room to his waiting car. "I'll start with the boxes, Kyoko. Take your time to talk to them."

The girl nodded and walked downstairs towards the small dining room near the kitchen, where Taisho and Okami were having their break. The couple stood up and hugged her gently.

"Thank you for everything," Kyoko choked, not able to hold her sobs and sniffles.

"It was our pleasure to have you with us here, Kyoko-chan," the kind plump woman whispered. "Don't forget that you can come back here anytime you want."

Kyoko nodded, still sobbing. The three of them walked outside to meet Ren and Marina who were in the middle of fitting Kyoko's things into the trunk. Ren noticed them from the corner of his eyes. "Ready?" he asked Kyoko, who only nodded as an answer.

Marina walked towards the elderly couple and bowed to them. "I, and also on the behalf of my brother and cousin, would like to express our greatest gratitude to you for taking care of Kyoko-san. I assure you that she will be protected and treated with utmost care."

"You'd better do," Taisho told her sternly, earning a wry smile from the woman who usually held the aura of superiority.

After Kyoko said another good-bye to her foster parents, she got into the back seat, while Marina took the passenger seat. Ren slipped in into the driver's seat. "So, where're we going to, Marina-san?"

"2-1-35 Kaneda-dori, Chiyoda-ku."

Ren and Kyoko stared at Marina speechlessly. The older woman asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Err… No," Ren said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's just… I also live there."

* * *

A woman strode quickly towards LME's receptionist, her heels making clicking sound against the marble floor. The two ladies behind the desk looked up to see her surrounded with an aura that was somehow familiar and brought a sense of déjà vu to them.

"Good afternoon," she said in a venomous voice. "Do you think I can see your President?"

The receptionist women glanced at each other warily before one of them asked the visitor. "Do you have any appointment, Ma'am?"

"No." The answer came in clipped tone. "But this is urgent. Please tell him that."

"Your name, please?"

"It's Mogami. Mogami Saena."

* * *

**A/N: The address of Marina's and Ren's building is a complete bluff. If it really exists, then the similarity is completely not intended.**

**As this is only a filler chapter, the OC Yoshimoto Tsukumo's role isn't really put in detail. But he'll make a lot of appearance as the story goes on.**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	4. A Busy Night -Parade of Parents-

**As usual, thank you for everyone who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters.**

**A day earlier than my set date; I'm proud of myself. I'm glad that Yoshimoto received a pretty good response :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 4: A Busy Night ~Parade of Parents~

Yashiro Yukihito just got off from the taxi in front of the main entrance of LME and started walking leisurely towards the elevators when he caught a glimpse of a black-haired woman clad in strict business attire standing in front of the receptionist desks.

The women behind the desk looked uneasy, and that made Yashiro a bit worried. _What if this woman was a persistent fan who demanded seeing one of the talents?_ He once again had a good look at the woman, and instantly had deemed the woman as too serious to be an obsessed fan.

Nearing the elevators, he could hear the conversation clearly. "Do you think I can see your President?" he heard the woman speaking. He did not really liked her voice; it was unfeminine and authoritative, too straightforward.

The receptionist's voice had been heard next. "Do you have any appointment, Ma'am?"

"No. But this is urgent. Please tell him that."

"Your name, please?"

"It's Mogami. Mogami Saena."

Yashiro almost dropped his briefcase and ran into the wall. Fortunately for him, he did not, so he went unnoticed by the woman. He stared at her in disbelief.

_Is she really who I think she is…?_

"I am sorry, Mogami-sama. But it seems that the President is not in the office at the moment due to work. He will be back after 6 this evening."

Saena absentmindedly bit her nail on her right thumb. "Is that so… I'll come back, then. Can you please set me up an appointment with him?"

"Of course, Ma'am," the receptionist answered politely. "Is 6.30 pm fine for you?"

"Yes. Goodbye."

The bespectacled man watched Saena leave the desk towards the main entrance, and his mind and body began functioning again. He quickly reached for his phone, and dialed Ren's. His charge answered on the first ring.

"Good afternoon, Yashiro-san."

"Ren!" Yashiro almost screamed. "You won't believe who I just saw at LME!"

"Yashiro-san, calm down! Who are you talking about?"

"It's–"

The phone abruptly went off. Yashiro looked at his phone only to found out that once again, he had forgotten his gloves.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Ren stared incredulously at his phone. The screen told him that the conversation had only lasted for 10 seconds before being cut off.

_That guy… Don't tell me he forgot the gloves again? What makes him to be in such a rush? Anyway, what's that ability of him? Was he really an earthling?_

His train of thoughts was cut off when Kyoko talked to him. "What's wrong with Yashiro-san?"

He looked at the curious Kyoko and sighed. "I have no idea. It went off."

"I see," Kyoko mumbled. Beside her, Marina glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

Ren decided to change the subject of the conversation. "But, Marina-san, I've never known that we're neighbors."

"Neither have I, Tsuruga-san," the older woman replied. "But it is actually understandable. We live at different floors, and each floor cannot be accessed by other people but the specific occupants. And I have never shopped at the supermarket below."

A 'ding' was heard and the elevator doors opened to reveal a hallway similar to Ren's floor. Marina fished for her card as they walked to a door by the end of the hallway. She unlocked and opened the door to reveal a spacious genkan. A shoe rack was located there, and above it was a long, narrow painting of a plum branch on wooden surface.

"Come in!" Marina said as she removed her shoes. "I will show you around."

Kyoko removed her boots and nervously followed Marina while Ren bent down to put one of her boxes and remove his shoes. Reaching the area of the living room – she based it on the floorplan of Ren's condominium – Kyoko gasped in awe.

The room was wide and bright. There were two comfy two-seater sofas covered in brown fluffy cloth and connected with a low side table that supported a table lamp. Near one of the sofas were a recliner and a low coffee table made of thick, tempered glass. Opposite them, a low television table was situated with a flat-screen television and a DVD player. Stacks of CDs and DVDs were kept on the cupboard next to it. And above it, 'Real Impression' was hung proudly in golden frame.

"A beauty, isn't it?" Marina whispered with a smile, looking at the painting as if she was looking at her child. "It is the best one Kento have ever painted, so far I know. Let's show you the dining room."

The next room was actually a part of the living room. However, it seems that Marina had decided to place the small dining table and chairs next to the large window to be able to enjoy the night view while having dinner.

The kitchen was located at the same spot as Ren's, but Marina's looked more crowded. It was bright colored, with the furniture made of oak. Pots of chrysanthemum and pansies were placed on every corner. The highest shelves were filled with family pictures; among them, Kyoko could see an old picture when Marina, Seijuro, and Kento had still been at their childhood age. The stove was large, and directly below it was a big convectional oven.

"You are welcome to use the raw food stored in the fridge and cook for yourself," Marina said. "Pans and pots are in the lowest drawer over there. And this room is the library."

The room next to the kitchen was the rarely used dining table at Ren's apartment. But here, it was transformed beautifully into a room full of books from the ceiling to the floor. Ren whistled in awe.

They continued to the doors. "That door leads to my room," she pointed to the door on the end of the hallway, which if Kyoko recalled correctly was the door to the master bedroom. Marina opened the door near it. "And this is your bedroom, with adjacent bathroom for you to use freely."

It was as large as Ren's guest bedroom, but looked larger with only a large bed, dressing table with mirror, and chairs; all made of wicker. There was a built-in wardrobe next to the dressing table, and the armchair was put facing the curtained window. The room was decorated with pots of pansies and sunflowers.

A room fit for a respected young lady. Before knowing it, Kyoko squealed happily. "Thank you, Marina-san! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Err… You're welcome," Marina replied while sweat-dropping. "I will go back to the parking lot to take the other boxes. You can unpack now if you wish to."

And with that, the vice-president of Akatoki Agency left Kyoko and Ren alone in the room. Ren put the box he was carrying down near the bed while Kyoko was busy in her la-la-land, imagining her sleeping on the bed like a princess.

"I have the absolute feeling you'll love being here," he chuckled, snapping her from her thoughts. He brought her closer to him by gathering her by the waist. He murmured huskily, "Are we still having that dinner later at my place?"

"Of course," she answered matter-of-factly. "Someone has to make sure you eat something."

He grimaced inwardly, regretting ever mentioning dinner.

* * *

When Lory came back to LME, it was already 6.15. He was longing to have a nice dinner together with Maria, his lovely granddaughter, and thinking to call her and ask if she's running around the building doing something he did not know what, when his secretary buzzed him.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Sir, the girls from receptionist informed me earlier that a woman named Mogami Saena made an appointment to meet you at 6.30."

He could sense a headache coming. "Alright, let her up whenever she comes."

_Things better be good now._

* * *

Kyoko was already starting dinner at 6.30. As usual, she danced around the kitchen flawlessly, grilling chicken and mixing a large bowl of salad. And as usual too, Kuon was banished from the kitchen after he got the pans and pots down from the high shelf, finished setting up the rice in the rice cooker and prepared plates and bowls for her to use.

He was admiring the efficiency his girlfriend showed in the kitchen and hoping that he would get to see her in his kitchen every night he got back from work from now on, when he heard the doorbell chimed.

Kuon exchanged a puzzled glance with Kyoko. "Did you invite Marina-san for dinner?" he asked.

"No," Kyoko answered, as much confused as her boyfriend. "She said she had to finish a manuscript tonight, so she declined my dinner invitation."

He walked towards the door and hesitantly opened it. In an instant he was hurled back as a blonde-haired woman launched herself at him, encasing him in a bear hug. Behind her, a dirty blonde man stood, grinning at him.

"KUON!" the blonde woman cried out. "Oh, my baby, I missed you so, so much!"

"Mom?" he choked. "Dad?"

Kuu Hizuri grinned at him. "Hi there, son," he greeted, walking in and closing the door behind him. "It's great that you look good."

"How…?"

"Hmm? Oh, how we got in here?" Kuu's expression turned sour. "Your mom convinced the concierge to let us up."

Juliella Hizuri grinned in satisfaction. "No one can ever deny a beautiful woman."

Kuon could not help but sweat-dropped. Just in time, Kyoko's voice was heard. "Kuon, who's there?"

He was released abruptly as Julie ventured further towards the kitchen, meeting face to face with a surprised Kyoko. Immediately, the girl was enveloped in a crushing embrace.

"Oh my Lord! She's adorable!" Julie squealed. "Is this the one you told me about, Kuu?"

"Yep, she's the one and only," Kuu said, ruffling Kyoko's hair. "How are you, Kyoko?"

Kyoko could not answer as she felt herself suffocated. Noticing this, Kuon yanked her from Julie's hug. He sighed. "Kyoko, meet my mother, Juliella Hizuri."

After taking some deep breath, Kyoko could finally see Julie clearly. The older woman was an epitome of beauty; long slender legs, curvaceous body, fair skin, green eyes, and shiny blonde, curly hair. Kyoko could feel herself blushing at the sight. "N-nice to meet you, J-Julie-san."

"What?" Julie pouted. "You call Kuu 'Father' but you won't call me 'Mother'? I want a daughter, especially one as sweet as you!"

Kyoko flinched at the sound of 'Mother'. "B-but, won't it be inappropriate–"

"Non-sense," the blonde goddess cut her in. "You're our daughter and that's final. Now call me 'Mother'."

"A-alright, M-Mother," Kyoko stuttered. After that, she was enveloped in a much gentler embrace by the Hizuri couple. Kuon smiled gently at them.

"We're home, Kyoko," Julie whispered kindly.

Kyoko could not help but smile. Once she was released, she was reminded of the cooking dinner, so she sprinted back to the kitchen while Kuon led his parents to the living room. Once they were settled on the sofa, Kuon asked, "So what brought you here to Japan?"

"I was on Skype with the Boss two days ago," Kuu began. "We were talking about an offer for me to act in a movie–"

Kuon's interest was perked straight away. "A movie?"

"Yeah, offered by this Ogata kid. I worked with his father once; I want to know how it's going to be working with this guy. His 'Dark Moon' was a kick-ass, you see." He grinned proudly towards his son. "But that's out of question. So, we were on video chat when his secretary told him there was an accident at your location, and the one involved was Kyoko. It sounded really big, so I bought the ticket straight away."

"What about your work?" Kuon asked. "You're just taking a break like that?"

"Of course not!" his father exclaimed. "I just finished filming and nothing on my schedule for at least 3 months, so I thought this was a perfect chance for a vacation."

Kuon turned to Julie. "And how about you?"

"Aw, Kuon," she whined. "Are you forbidding me from my holiday?"

"Err… No, but–"

"And I wanted to meet you! When Kuu told me that you and Kyoko might be hurt, I felt like 5 years of my life evaporated away, you know?"

"Okay? So where are you staying?" Kuon asked.

"At the Boss' place," Kuu said. "We're going to LME after this to finalize my contract, and after that we're going back to the house with the Boss."

The dark-haired actor hummed. "I see… How long are you gonna stay in Japan?"

"It depends," his father answered, leaning back to the couch. "I think the filming'll take about… let's say one year, give or take. Of course, I have to go back and forth between the States and here, but I think it's gonna worth it. By the way, I read the newspaper."

Kuu glanced to the direction of the kitchen, and Kuon instantaneously knew what he was referring to. "It's gibberish," he spatted.

"But I don't think it's a complete lie," Kuu added. "Judging from her reaction when I praised her for her cooking as you, I think the abandonment part is real."

"Well, that's–"

"I'm more concerned about the arranged marriage, though," the blonde man continued grimly. "That part, if not clarified properly, will cause further problem, especially when you decided to come clean with your relationship with her. It won't be good for her reputation."

Kuon sighed. "You're right."

"Err… Guys?" Julie spoke out. "What in the world were you talking about?"

* * *

_So much for having another person living here_, Marina sighed inwardly. She was eating dinner alone at her small dining table, facing the big window. Now she regretted declining Kyoko's invitation for dinner up at Ren's apartment.

The sound of her phone ringing called for her attention. She stood up and walked towards the phone in the living room, picking the receiver up. "Akatoki speaking."

"Marina? It's Kento."

A vein popped up on her forehead when she recognized the voice. "Who are you?" she snapped angrily.

"Aww, come on, Marina, it's me! Don't tell me you've forgotten about me already?"

"I wish I could forget about you," she replied monotonously. "What're you calling for?"

Kento gave out a shaky laugh. "Are you angry?"

"Of course I am! You have left for 18 years, for goodness sake!" Marina cried out.

"I know! I'm sorry!" Kento said. "But that's not what I'm calling you for."

Marina did not know if she could be angrier than this. Kento spoke again on the other side of the line. "Did you read the newspaper this morning? I think it was Hinokuni Shinbun."

"I did. Why?"

"On the gossip column, there was a picture of a girl looking almost strikingly like me! Do you know who she is?"

Marina was gob smacked. "You finally read newspapers?"

"Marina, that's rude!" Kento huffed. "Now, who is she?"

She was silent for a while, calming herself down. "Mogami Kyoko," she finally said. "An actress under LME, and I don't think I have to mention her mother's name."

"Mogami… Kyoko…" Kento muttered. He then laughed shakily again, as if laughing at his foolish self. "So Saena really gave birth, huh? I thought she had aborted the child straight away."

"Apparently not," Marina mumbled. "Kento, may I ask you something?"

"Huh?"

"What exactly happened between you and Saena 18 years ago?"

"Ah, you see–"

Marina's mobile phone rang, cutting Kento off. She reached for it and looked at the screen. Her brows furrowed. "Kento, I think I have to hang up," she said. "Can you give me your contact number?"

After Kento gave her his phone number and they exchanged short goodbyes, Marina answered her ringing mobile phone. "Good evening, Akatoki speaking."

"Ah, Marina-chan," a baritone was heard. "I almost though you wouldn't answer."

"How may I help you, Takarada-san?" she enquired gently, but with sharp anticipation.

"You might want to come here. There's this Mogami Saena woman looking for your niece."

* * *

"I want you to annul your contract with my daughter."

Lory had been completely taken aback when Saena had entered the room, walked straight towards him, and uttered that sentence without any preamble. "And you are…?"

"Mogami Saena, Kyoko's mother."

"Nice to finally meet you, Ma'am," the tall mustached man had stood up and bowed to the woman. "Please sit down."

When the two of them had been sat down on the sofas, Lory took a deep suck from his cigar and huff the smoke out to calm himself down. "Now, about Mogami-kun's contract, I believe I cannot annul it without consulting it first with her and her legal guardian."

"What?" Saena had snapped.

"Mogami-kun has been given legal permission to debut by her legal guardian, and sudden annulment without any discussion with them is not permitted," he had explained as professional as possible.

From Saena's sour expression, Lory had known that she did not like the situation at all. She then had hissed calmly, trying to mask her fury. "I'd like to talk to this 'legal guardian' of hers."

Therefore, Lory could not express how relieved he was when the Oompa Loompas opened the door to reveal Marina, who had a 'fight-on' expression on her face. The younger of the Akatoki siblings walked calmly down and nodded to him as her only greeting, seeing how urgent and serious the situation was. She then snapped her head only to glare at Saena.

His relief was indeed short-lived.

* * *

**About the next chapter: TOTAL CHAOS. Stay tuned! (Should I try putting Reino somewhere in this story?)**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	5. Cat Fight -When Men Are Useless-

**Managed to finish this faster than I expected! Banzai!**

**Thank you for everyone who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters! The last chapter got a mixed response about Reino, I'm not really sure which one is the majority...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 5: Cat Fight ~When Men Are Useless~

The staring contest had lasted for what seemed like hours for Lory, filling his office with deadly silence. He saw the two women, both of them having their own sharp intellect, assessing each other and calculating the whole situation. He did not dare saying a word.

Marina finally broke the silent with only one word. "Saena."

"Marina," Saena hissed. "So you're her guardian now? I thought I've given all responsibilities over Kyoko to the Fuwas."

"It is indeed true that I was appointed as guardian for Kyoko-san just recently through written correspondence that was perfectly legal," Marina said calmly with a smile that did not reach her cold eyes. "I heard you wanted to speak with me. How may I help you?"

"Let's get this straight. I want Kyoko out of showbiz."

"And why is that?" Marina asked, raising one eyebrow.

"It's none of her business. Now annul the contract."

The vice-president of Akatoki Agency scoffed. "And why do you think I will just do as you ask?"

"She's my daughter. By the way, where is she?" Saena snapped.

"That is supposed to be my question," Marina retorted. "Where were you these past years? You left her years ago and now you want her back?"

"Where is she?"

Marina looked around, making it as dramatic as possible. "Well, she is not here presently."

"Don't act dumb with me, Marina," Saena growled. "Now tell me where she is!"

"I will not. In my opinion, it is better for her to be as far from you as possible, though."

Saena's face contorted in growing rage. "I'm her mother, Marina! How dare you keep her away from me?"

Marina rolled her eyes. "She practically grew up to be an independent person without a mother. You are no longer her mother, Saena."

"And who gave you the rights to act as her mother? Ah, are you acting as her mother to quench that desire of yours? You infertile b****."

Marina's eyebrows twitched at that comment, but she managed to keep her calm. She spoke again tiredly, as if what Saena said was boring. "For what reason do you want her back, exactly? Is it so that you will be able to demand perfection from her and scorn her when she is not able to reach that perfection you desire? Shoving her away when things did not go as you will it to? I know you are a perfectionist, but isn't that too much? I shall remind you, Saena, you are not a perfect being, either.

"If you really want perfection, why don't you achieve it yourself? Ah, I know why. Because you are a coward who is afraid of failing and being humiliated, isn't that correct? That was why you forced your sick ideals onto your innocent daughters, planting those absurd morals into her head, and when she failed you could take the position of the superior and scorn her as an inferior."

"You seem to know what happened," Saena smirked sickly. "That stupid girl told you, huh?"

Marina gasped dramatically, acting shocked. "So that was what happened? Wow, you are truly sick, Saena. No wonder Kento decided to leave 18 years ago."

A second later, to Lory's astonishment, a hand was swung with fervor.

* * *

The dinner at Ren's was lacking of events. Kuon and Kuu spent a lot of times explaining the article they were talking about to Julie in English, and the blonde woman's face was instantly filled with disdain when Kuon mentioned about Kyoko being ditched by her mother.

"That's so wrong!" Julie hollered. "No one has any right to neglect children like that. I can't wait to meet this b**** and give her a piece of my mind."

Kuu sighed. "Sadly, not all people are like you, Julie. People like this woman exist everywhere. Remember that case in the newspaper a week ago?"

His wife pouted. Kuon then continued to explain how Kyoko had come to Tokyo together with Sho and slaved herself for the boy before being thrown aside. When he reached the point of explaining the rumored arranged marriage, Julie had had her 'sparkling attack' face on, scaring him and his father.

Their grim atmosphere was broken when they could hear the sound of kitchen alarm and metal pots clanking. An excited smile spread across Julie's face as she stood up abruptly. "I'll go and help Kyoko and the kitchen."

It took everything for Kuu and Kuon to hold her at her place, and in the end Kuon had to sacrifice himself by letting Julie baby him, while Kuu slipped into the kitchen and help Kyoko preventing the dinner from disaster.

* * *

"You look a lot like someone I know, Sir."

Kento turned around to see a tall, frail man with silver long hair and lavender eyes. His nails were long and pointed like claws, and he was dressed in the most outrageous outfit Kento had ever seen. At the moment, the silverette was staring at him intently.

The golden-eyed man felt goosebumps all over his body. "Err… Young lad?" he said carefully, rubbing the back of his neck uneasily. "You do know that I'm a male, don't you?"

"Perfectly, and I also know that you're straight," the lavender-eyed man replied in a smooth voice. "Ah, pardon me for being rude. I'm called Reino."

"Nice to meet you… Reino," Kento greeted back. "And to let you know, I have no intention whatsoever to be a gay. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave."

He stood up and started walking out of the hotel lounge when Reino's voice was heard again. "You look a lot like a girl I was interested in, KYOKO."

Kento stopped on his tracks and turned back to face the frail man. "KYOKO? As in Mogami Kyoko?"

"Ah, so you know her too, Sir?"

"Yeah, I know her," Kento decided to bluff. "You're interested in her?"

"She's an interesting one," Reino said. "She has this particularly interesting black aura full of royal hatred and grudge and elegance that makes me want to possess her. How I want to have her in my arms and ravish her again, filling her head with the feelings of pure hatred towards me–"

He could not finish his sentence as a fist made contact with his jaws. He staggered back a few steps in pain before lifting his eyes to look at the furious pair of golden eyes.

"Did you just say you ravished Kyoko?" Kento growled in escalating fury. "HOW DARE YOU DISGRACE MY DAUGHTER?"

Reino could feel his face going pale. Before he could say anything, the other man yanked him up by his collar and hissed in a venomous voice. "Now, Reino or whatever your name is, I want you to stay away from her. When I receive news that you appear before her eyesight, or call her, I'll make sure that every possible force, real or ethereal, will hunt you down, and I will guarantee your death straight away. You got me?"

Kento did not wait for the younger man's response. He threw him away into the armchairs and strode away from the lounge, completely pissed off.

When he reached his room, he was wondering why he had been angry for a daughter he had never known – until Marina had told him – and seen.

* * *

It took time for Marina to finally register the stinging pain on her left cheek. She knew that Saena was temperamental, but she did not think that the woman slapped hard.

Now she knew. And it just escalated her irritation at Saena and made her want to mock the woman more. "Really?" she scoffed. "Is this the best you can do, Saena?"

Saena growled angrily and slapped Marina again before yanking her by the hair. It shocked the strict woman when her old colleague slapped her back. They glared at each other before exchanging more slaps and hair-yanking.

"NEVER MENTION _HIM _TO ME AGAIN!" Saena growled.

"And why is that?" Marina retorted, trying to push Saena away from her. "Because it hurts your ego that he left you?"

And suddenly she was tackled to the floor.

* * *

Kuu and Julie were walking towards Lory's office, perfectly pleased. They had had a nice dinner consisting of grilled chicken with Caesar salad, they had had a nice conversation with Kuon and Kyoko without once bringing up the damned article, and Julie had fulfilled her desire to have some quality time with her son – which was mostly her cuddling him and Kuon trying to get away if it had been not to save Kyoko's dinner. And to Julie's delight, her picky-eater of a son actually ate his dinner.

Their smile, however, faded when Kuu opened Lory's door to reveal an office with chairs strewn everywhere, a broken table lamp on the floor, and two women they did not recognize trying to land at least a kick on each other. Behind the working desk, Lory was peeking at the two women acting like Amazonian, while his hands were groping everywhere for his phone.

Kuu instantaneously bolted and separated Saena and Marina, who were still trying to claw the life out of each other. "What the hell is happening here?" he asked exasperatedly.

The woman clad in the once-strict business suit panted for breath. She growled, "This whore here won't give my daughter back!"

"Why in the world should I do that?" the other black-haired woman, who was dressed more casually in long knitted dress adored with black belt circling her waist, snapped. "I will never betray Kyoko-san by sending her back to a woman who never cares for her in the first place."

"What did you say?!" the strict woman screamed.

Marina scoffed. "Now answer me, Saena; you want her so badly now, why did you give her up in the first place?"

Something in Julie snapped. The blonde goddess stared at the business-clad woman. "You're Kyoko's mother?" she hissed angrily, reminded again of Kuon's story about the abandonment. Fast as a leopard, she pounced on Saena, making it her goal to choke the woman.

"How dare you treat her like that!" she growled. "You have absolutely no right to be a mother, you lame excuse of a b****!"

"Julie, honey, STOP!" Kuu barked, trying to yank his wife back, only to be elbowed painfully on the ribs.

Saena, panting hard to get some air into her lungs while Julie was trying her best to crush her windpipe, tried to launch a punch onto Julie's face. Her fist did not land on the American's face.

Instead, it landed hard on Marina's lower jaw bone, making the ghostwriter staggered back holding the hit jaws. Her eyes flashed with fury. "Now you have done it!" she screamed, throwing herself back into the fight.

Kuu ran to Lory's side behind the heavy desk. "Boss!" he yelled. "Do something!"

"I'm trying!" Lory yelled back, still desperately searching for the phone. "Just let me find the damn intercom and I'll call the security for help!"

"Why didn't you stop those two madness from the start?" the infamous actor asked.

"You think I didn't try?" the man dressed like Willy Wonka screamed. "I tried to make them talk civilly again, and one of them elbowed me on the corner of my mouth so hard I thought I've lost some of my teeth!"

A shrill scream of pain was heard from the tangled mess of women. The two men looked at each other helplessly.

"Don't just stare at me! Look for the phone, dammit!" Lory yelled as if the phone was their only lifeline.

* * *

Kuon had to struggle really hard to stifle his laughter to not wake Kyoko up.

She had fallen asleep after they had finished the dishes and been in the middle of a movie. Her head was against his hard chest, with her face nuzzling against his shirt. Kuon himself was leaning against the couch, trying to make Kyoko as comfortable as possible in her slumber. His fingers were busy tangling themselves in her chestnut tresses, while his other hand was holding his phone to his ear.

"So, who won the fight?" he snickered.

On the phone, Kuu sighed tiredly. "Considering that it ended with your mom losing a few strands of her hair, the Saena woman having bruised neck and black eye, and Akatoki-san having two swollen cheeks and bite marks on her arm, I'd say that no one won."

"Bite marks?" the younger man repeated in disbelief. "Who the hell bit Marina-san?"

"Who knows," his father replied. "Even if Akatoki-san and Julie teamed up against that damn woman, in that chaos of threesome world-class woman wrestling championship, they wouldn't manage not to hurt each other. I bet they would have still continued to take each other's life if we hadn't found the phone and managed to call the security in."

Kuon laughed softly, making Kuu scowl. "Let me tell you, son, this ain't a funny matter. A lesson for you: never make a woman angry."

"Roger that," the dark-haired man agreed solemnly, his fingers still stroking Kyoko's hair. She murmured something into his shirt, and he smiled at her gently before planting a kiss on her crown. "How's Mom?"

"Still revved up," the older man answered, completely horrified. "She claimed that she still hadn't gotten her point across the crazy woman's head and swore to give her a jab and an uppercut the next time she met her."

Kuon's expression turned grim. "Dad," he murmured. "About Kyoko's mother, though."

"Yeah?"

"Can you not tell Kyoko about this?" Kuon asked. "I mean, I think it'd be better if she heard it from Marina-san. She's her guardian, after all."

Kuu sighed again. "You have a point, son. Ah, Julie's out from the shower. You wanna talk to her?"

"I guess not," Kuon said. "Kyoko's sleeping now; I'd better turn in now as well."

"Sure thing. See you around, Kuon."

Kuon stared long into his phone before putting it carefully onto the low coffee table, trying to not jostle Kyoko awake. He pulled a fleece afghan over their body, switched off the dim light, and let himself being dragged into slumber after giving his beloved a passionate good-night kiss.

* * *

Marina was beyond pissed off.

When the security had managed to pull the three of them apart, she was left angry and wondering how in the world she had had strands of shiny blonde hair in her grasp and hideous bite marks on one of her arms.

After the struggling Saena had been safely dragged away out of the office, Marina had made her point clear to Lory that she had not want the woman anywhere near Kyoko.

She had even instructed the flamboyant man to send Yoshimoto to her apartment early to instruct the new manager directly before Kyoko went to work.

At the moment she just paid the driver of the taxi she had hailed from LME, and got off the car when Saena's words came back to her.

_You infertile b****_.

It stung her badly as she was harshly reminded of her inability to bear children. A breeze blew her hair to a side while she stood on the entrance of the condominium building limply. For some reason, her attention was brought to a man standing on her far left side.

Her eyes widened. There, Uehara Kento, clad in thick winter coat and gripping the handle of a brown large suitcase, waved his hand and smiled sheepishly.

"Marina," he greeted. His golden eyes scanned the appearance of his cousin and he whistled. "Wow, you look like s***."

"Language, Kento," she snarled. "Why are you here?"

"I asked Seijuro if you were still living here and–"

"What I was talking about," Marina cut him off, "is why you are here in Tokyo. Shouldn't you be in Osaka for the next few days?"

He scratched the back of his head uneasily. "You see," he began. "I was sitting at the hotel lounge, enjoying my scotch–"

"Since when do you drink alcohol?" she asked in disbelief.

"Since my friend in Germany introduced me to their beer. Now, can you stop butting in every word I say?" Kento snapped. "Okay, so back to where I was in the lounge. A young man called Reino suddenly come to me and greet me with a pick-up line they usually use in pubs it gave me terrible goosebumps. And then he mentioned something about him ravishing Kyoko once.

"I gave him a piece of my mind before leaving him limp against the table in the lounge. But after that something kept nagging me, so I took a taxi straight to the airport and bought the earliest ticket to Tokyo. Now you're allowed to say something."

Marina quickly took a quick breath. "By leaving him limp, were you saying that you punched him?"

"Straight on the lower jaw," he added proudly. "That boy gave me the creeps. He said something about aura… I have the suspicion that he's a fae."

"You said Reino…" she mumbled. "Silver hair, lavender eyes, pale skin?"

"You know him?" he asked with wide eyes.

She nodded. "Reino from Vie Ghoul. They gave one of our talents quite a competition last year. Did you say he molested Kyoko-san?"

"That was the implication, I think," Kento tapped his chin. "By the way, can't we go in? It's cold out here."

Marina rolled her eyes and opened the door.

* * *

"Saena, huh…" Kento mumbled with a grim smile. "As always, her violence is not to be underestimated. That's a nice bite mark, I should say."

"Quit it, Kento," Marina grumbled, pressing an ice bag onto her swollen cheek. "So? What are you going to do?"

He sighed. "I still can't believe she's someone who can do something like abandoning a family, but…" He let himself deep in thought, before saying in determination. "I'd like to meet her."

"What?" his cousin snapped.

"If what you're saying is true, then I want to talk to her at least once," he explained. "After that, depending on how the situation looks to me, I may or may not appeal for custody."

* * *

**Aw, I feel like I made Reino a bit OOC...**

**A lot of cussing, swearing, barking, growling, snapping, yelling, shouting, and screaming in this chapter... Why does it sound a lot like a circus?**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	6. Father and Daughter -Unexpected Morning-

**As always, thank you for people who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters. I'm so happy that people loved Chapter 5 :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Father and Daughter ~Unexpected Morning~

Marina was a bit taken aback when she saw Kento's grim yet dead serious expression. She stared at him for some time, not saying anything, before letting out a sigh and stood up from her seat to reach her phone.

"I'm calling my lawyer," she stated.

Kento looked at her as if he was puzzled. "Don't you think it's a bit too fast? I really want to assess the situation before–"

"I know," she butted in. "But I personally think it is better to prepare things earlier in case it becomes worse than our anticipation. Also, I think we also have to prepare for the possibility of Vie Ghoul's agency suing you for taking down their lead vocalist."

"I didn't even imagine that he was a singer," Kento grumbled. "From his appearance, I thought he was from a mysterious occult, scouting new members."

"Even if he is an ordinary person, it is still possible for him to sue you," Marina retorted. Her thoughts were suddenly focused on the time displayed on her phone. "Kyoko-san still is not back yet?" she murmured to herself

"What?" he gasped. "She lives here?"

"Ah, yes. That is why I have to give you a pillow and blanket to sleep in the living room for a while."

Kento asked excitedly as his eyes wandered around the apartment. "Where is she?"

"She must be still upstairs, at her boyfriend's apartment. If she has not come back at this hour, I presume she will be staying the night there."

"It's improper!" he gasped. "She's… what? 17 years old?"

"She will be eighteen years old soon, Kento."

"But still!" he berated. "For someone so young to be staying at a guy's place…!"

Marina only dismissed it with a flick of a hand. "Do not worry. Tsuruga-san is too much of a gentleman to do something improper to your daughter. In fact, I think he is seriously thinking of marrying her."

"He WHAT?!" Kento choked. "Alright, I'm going upstairs right now and see this boy with my own eyes."

"And how will you do that?" his cousin asked monotonously. "You do not have access to any of the floors in this building, and obviously I am too exhausted to accompany you or stand your unnecessary antics. She is definitely bound to come back here tomorrow morning, so just sit down and make yourself at home while I make that phone call to the lawyer."

She sauntered away to the direction of the library, leaving him alone on the couch with his thoughts. Moments later, Marina came back and sat on the recliner when his eyes were focused on the painting hung facing him.

"You still keep this baby, huh?" he asked with a smile, eyeing 'Real Impression' with his artistic pride.

"It will be such a disappointment to discard this beauty away," she replied with a smile of her own. "Besides, this is a present. I never discard presents."

A comfortable silence fell between them, until Marina said with a low voice. "By the way, you have yet answered my question."

"Which one?" he mumbled.

"About you and Saena."

Kento sighed. "You're asking me about the time before I went to see you, aren't you?"

"I do not think I really want to listen to something else at the moment, so yes."

"I was planning to propose to her that time," he began, enjoying the terribly horrified look on Marina's face. "When I got home, she was sitting on the bed with a pale face. I remember how scared I was." He chuckled.

Noticing the 'that's-not-funny-you-d******' look on the ghostwriter's face, he stopped chuckling and continued. "That was when she told me she was pregnant. You know that I was so happy, right?"

"So happy that you would not stop grinning like an imbecile," she added grumpily. "Even before she was born, you have become a _very_ doting parent, I must say. Now I see the needs to warn you not to glomp your daughter when you see her tomorrow."

"Why not?" He pouted.

"Just do not," Marina sighed exasperatedly. "I would rather you to continue your story, if you please."

Kento's expression turned from foolishly happy to extremely depressed, making her sweat-drop. "After that…" he mumbled. "She scolded me for being so happy. Her expression was dreadful. In the end, she shooed me away."

"And you went to my house afterwards," Marina sighed. "Seriously, what is her problem? And one other problem: why did you have to be such a coward?"

"I think the pregnancy wasn't what she had planned for her life, and she blamed me for ruining that," he said. "You've always known that she's an ambitious person. By the way, what's Kyoko like?"

The woman raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you referring to her personalities?"

Kento nodded. A gentle smile spread across her face as her thoughts went to Kyoko."Let's see," she began proudly. "She's a talented one. Creative and imaginative like you. Once she set her heart onto something, there is nothing stopping her. And she is a very loving and caring person. But due to a certain someone," her voice suddenly turned into an angry snarl, "she is now very afraid of being rejected, and become a rather perfectionist. And she is very scary when angry."

"Much like Saena," Kento commented, chuckling warily. "I can't wait to meet her."

* * *

Kyoko woke to the stray sunlight seeping through the curtains covering a large window and the sound of steady heartbeat. A brief scan of her surroundings told her that she had fallen asleep at Kuon's place. She sat up on the couch only to notice her boyfriend sound asleep beneath her.

Blushing furiously as her conscience screamed at the impropriety of the whole situation, the teenage girl's quickly bolted off from the atop the eye-candy's body. Her attempt, though, was to no avail when she realized that she was trapped in his tight embrace. A bright smile spread slowly on his face and his eyelids fluttered open, revealing lush green eyes that looked straight into her golden ones, taking her breath away.

"Morning, sweetheart," he cooed, still half asleep. "I hope you had a good sleep?"

She could only nod meekly, resulting in a chuckle from Kuon. "Sorry for crashing in without notice," she mumbled with her head lowered to hide her deep blush.

"That's alright," he replied, his hands automatically played with her hair as if addicted. "Although it will be better if this can happen every single night."

"Only in your dreams, playboy," she grumbled, pouting even more when he laughed.

Kuon slyly leaned himself forward so that his mouth was only a breath away from her ears. "Only in front of you, Princess," he whispered huskily, earning a surprised squeak from her. "Now, won't you give me a good morning kiss?"

Kyoko chewed her lower lip for a moment, debating whether to give in to his charm or to blatantly refuse to protect her chastity. Before she could come to a decision, his mouth already captured hers.

Kuon's lips were soft, moving gently and politely over hers, as if afraid of breaking her. Soon, Kyoko's senses were captured entirely by his scent and love for her, and she began to return the kiss.

The reign of control over his desire snapped and his mouth turned hot and demanding as he deepened the kiss. Kuon slanted his face to gain better angle, kissing her with eagerness she had never felt before, and to her surprise, there was no willingness in her whatsoever to break the fierce contact between their lips and push him away.

After what felt like hours for them, they broke away due to lack of air, and they looked at each other, panting heavily. Not very long after, they ravished each other's mouths again like it was something they needed desperately to survive, like there was no tomorrow. After managing to flip over so that her back was on the couch and his body looming over her, he licked her lower lips for permission, and she granted it happily.

Their tongues soon were engaged in a fight for dominance, and when Kyoko's falter, he delved into her mouth, feeling the ridges of her teeth and tasting the inside of her cheeks. A moan escaped her when he caressed her tongue with his only to start another dance. Pleasurable sensation shoot along her spine, and another moan erupted from her throat to be swallowed by his hungry mouth.

Kuon broke the kiss abruptly only to drag his lips along her lower jaw, to her neck and collarbone, lavishing sweet butterfly kisses on her sensitive skin. Her hands lifted to the back of his head, clutching his soft hair as the tingling sensation she felt spread to her entire being. Heat pooled on her lower region, and she squirmed in ecstasy as he nipped and nibbled the sensitive patch on the base of her neck while his hands held her flat against his torso and rubbed circles on the bare skin of her back beneath her rumpled clothes.

Her phone rang loudly, startling the two of them.

The number one bachelor lifted his head, and Kyoko could see his undying love and desire for her. The skin of her face flushed with heat as he stared at her hungrily, ready to ravish her anytime.

_What in the world have I done?! _She screamed inwardly when she thought over their recent activity. _With Kuon, in the morning, in his apartment, on his couch, on top of him, the tongue…_ She could feel her brain short-circuited if not fried into charcoal due to embarrassment.

Kuon sat up and with his long arms reached for her ringing phone. He flipped it open and looked at the screen. "Kyoko," he mumbled. "It's Marina-san."

She was cut off from her trains of thoughts when another realization hit her. She had not contacted Marina last night.

Speedy as lightning, Kyoko swiped her phone from Kuon's clutches and pushed the receiving button. Before the other side of the line could say anything, she threw herself off the couch onto the carpeted floor, bowing deeply into a dogeza while clutching her phone to her ear. "I'M DEEPLY, TERRIBLY SORRY, MARINA-SAN!"

Kuon could only sigh while leaning his forehead into his palms, his elbows resting on his knees. His hands were itching to grab hold of his girlfriend's elbows and lift her up from her rather compromising position. He definitely needed a freezing cold shower at the moment to calm his nerves down.

"Good morning to you too, Kyoko-san," Marina's voice sounded unfazed by her niece's frantic apology. "And there is no need for an apology; I have had a guess on what was happening, and I have no right to forbid you."

"But–"

The woman interrupted her whimper. "Now, Kyoko-san, I need you to be back at our apartment as soon as possible. Your manager, Yoshimoto-san, is due to come here soon, and I have someone who is very eager to see you and Tsuruga-san before you go to work today. I personally think a breakfast together would be nice, unless Tsuruga-san have to go somewhere for work very soon."

"…Someone?" she asked. "Who…?"

"A surprise for you."

Kyoko glanced at Kuon who shrugged his shoulder. "I sure can accept the offer of breakfast," he said casually.

* * *

Yoshimoto Tsukumo was sweating profoundly under the piercing gaze of a tall, black-haired, and golden-eyed man who was, obviously, older than him. From the resemblance, Yoshimoto could easily guess that this man was related to his newest charge in a familial way, but the reason why said man was glaring at him was simply beyond his mind.

His silver eyes darted to the woman dressed in simple cotton blouse and knee-high skirt; this woman he recognized as Akatoki Marina, the vice-president of Akatoki Agency and the very person who had requested his presence here in her rather modest yet extravagant condominium.

"Is this young man Tsuruga Ren?" the golden-eyed man snarled.

_How in the world am I Tsuruga Ren? _Yoshimoto asked inwardly in disbelief.

Marina rolled her eyes in desperation. "Unless Tsuruga-san has found a way to shorten his height, I do not believe this innocent young man here is the one you are looking for."

The glaring eased a little, and Yoshimoto was able to release the breath he had been holding for so long.

"Then who is this guy and what's his relationship with Kyoko?" Kento asked Marina impatiently.

"I would rather you to be quiet and just sit down than scaring your daughter's new manager away," Marina mumbled with a low, threatening voice.

Kento, although unsatisfied with his cousin's lack of answer, sat down on the sofa, while Yoshimoto took his turn to stare at the older man.

"You're Kyoko-san's father?" he repeated, not believing his ears. "You look so young!"

Kento raised his eyebrow in surprise. "I'm not sure if you were sincere or if that was your way to flatter the parents of your talent, but thank you."

Yoshimoto sweat-dropped at the comment, and Marina patted him on the back of his shoulder, shaking her head helplessly. "You have no need to take him seriously, as he was either only joking or his mind needs some straightening out."

"Marina, you're rude!" Kento pouted. "That's not a really nice thing to say."

A sound of the front door opening and people coming in broke them from their conversation. Kento leaned his head for a peek, and was soon caught in eye contact with the same golden eyes as his.

* * *

Kyoko and Ren – freshly clean and fed – reached Marina's door 30 minutes after her call. It took Kyoko some time to get used to the difference between Marina's keycard and Ren's, and he promised her to punch a harmless hole on one card each for her to slip her keychain in to differentiate the cards.

Still talking about what they were going to do for the day, Kyoko opened the door and let Ren go in first before stepping into the _genkan_ and closing the door behind him. She noticed a black-haired head peeking from the living room and froze, wide-eyed.

Staring at her, as frozen as she was, was a pair of eyes with the same shade of gold as hers.

The man gaping at her with dropped jaws had a striking resemblance to her, although altered by his male genes. Kyoko started thinking that maybe she would look like this man if she had been born a boy.

Not long after, the reason part of her kicked in and Kyoko finally recognized the man as the older version of Uehara Kento she had seen in Marina's pictures.

In an instant, barrage of thoughts fleeted through her mind. _Why is he suddenly here? Isn't he supposed to be gone? Why did he come back? Did he want to claim custody of me? What does he understand anyway? Why did he left Mother and I? Didn't he hate us? Is he here now to claim to love me?_

She saw Marina saying something from the living room, but she could not register what it was. A few seconds later, she could feel someone grabbing her elbow gently, and she turned her head to see Ren's worried expression looking at her. As much as she wanted to assure him that she was fine, she felt numb inside while all the thoughts kept repeating again and again in her mind.

Seeing Kyoko's expression, Kento gingerly walked towards her. He was about to reach her and put one arm on her shoulder when suddenly he could sense a dark aura surrounding the girl. He instantly pulled his hand back and strode away from Kyoko.

Marina, utterly confused, were about to ask the artist what was wrong when unexpectedly an explosion of dark aura similar to the one she had encountered during the urgent meeting at Lory's office erupted, tossing the furniture around a bit and breaking some flower pots.

She looked at Kyoko, who was glaring at Kento with hatred, and then at her cousin, who was staring at Kyoko, completely horrified.

* * *

**I can't believe I wrote a fluff like that... (blushing) And I do not invent the word 'glomp'. I borrowed that from Shugo Chara!.**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	7. Father and Daughter -The Two Queens-

**As always, thank you for you guys who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters. I absolutely can't go on without you.**

**People seem to hate Kento now, but I am happy that readers receive my OCs just like what I intended to. Thank you for a lot of comments on them!**

**JeremyVD: Did I read you advertising my story? Gee, thanks a lot! ;D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Father and Daughter ~The Two Queens~

Kento was not really sure whether he was really standing face to face with his daughter.

First of all, her hair was a nice shade of chestnut brown, not black like in the picture of her he had seen in the newspapers.

Second, the girl in the picture he had seen had had a long scar running on the left side of her face. The girl's face, however, was clear of any flaw; not even a blemish.

Lastly, Marina had told him that Kyoko had been a caring and loving person. _What part of this girl is caring and loving? _He wondered as he studied the girl fuming with black aura full of rage and hatred. _She's even scarier than Saena. And what's with those flying spirits around her?_

His eyes then spotted a dark-haired giant of man standing beside Kyoko. The man he presumed as Tsuruga Ren put one of his large hand on her shoulder, looking at her worriedly. The girl lost a bit of her tension, and the black aura receded, making Kento released the breath he had been holding.

Kyoko smiled thankfully at Ren and then turned to face Kento. This time, her smile was a complete fake. "Good morning," she greeted the older man with a professional tone. "I was not aware that Marina-san is having guests this early morning. Pardon me for my late introduction. I am Mogami Kyoko, and I am staying here for a while. Please to meet you." With that, she bowed.

Ren had to stifle a laugh watching his girlfriend act like that. _D***, she's mimicking me. Is that how I look whenever I gave her that kind of smile? Now I know why she was always so frightened whenever I did that._

Kento looked at her, gaping and flinching at the same time at the honey-dripping politeness. Not knowing what else to do, he bowed back. "Uehara Kento. I'm Marina's cousin. Nice to meet you as well…" He assessed the girl's expression once more, before adding in defeat, "Mogami-san."

Marina sighed. Part of her wanted to sympathize with her poor cousin, yet another part of her just wanted to mock him and remind him to no end that he deserved it. She leaned into his shoulder and murmured, "I am sure now you understand why I told you to not glomp her last night."

He nodded slightly, frowning, before walking away to the couch and sitting down facing Yoshimoto, who in turn stood up.

"Good morning, Kyoko-san, Tsuruga-san," the manager greeted the lovebirds, while Kyoko bowed and greeted him back with less tension than when she had done to Kento. "We will have to go at 9, Kyoko-san, so we have plenty of time for breakfast. No rush. I'm not sure about Tsuruga-san's schedule, though."

"I believe I don't have anything until 11 today," Ren murmured, eyeing the silver-eyed man with interest. "You must be Yoshimoto, right?"

"Yes, I am," Yoshimoto replied with an easy smile. Ren instantly liked this guy, especially when he spotted a simple gold wedding band circling the man's ring finger. "I feel honored that Japan's number one actor knows me. Where did you get to recognize my name?"

The tall actor laughed. "Well, Kyoko told me about the new manager last night. And adding to that, my manager, Yashiro-san, mentioned you several times. Man, I think he'd love to see you."

"Your manager's Yuki? Yashiro Yukihito?" Yoshimoto repeated in disbelief. His expression then changed to one of sympathy, surprising Ren and Kyoko a little. "It must be hard on you."

A bit amused, Ren asked, "What's wrong with Yashiro-san? So far, he has done his job very well."

"I'm not questioning his capability," the manager shook his head. "What I'm talking about is that alien ability of his. It got me a lot when we were in college. Never happen to you?"

"A lot, actually. He even used it once as a resort of threat."

"Poor you," Yoshimoto sighed. "I know he's one of my best friends, but when we graduated I was really glad that I didn't really have to lose a cell phone because of him. Praise the Lord."

Ren laughed again. He then glanced at Kyoko and noticed her staring at Kento uneasily from the corner of her eyes. He leaned down and whispered to her. "Why don't you get changed before breakfast?"

The pair of golden orbs flicked to his brown-covered one. She nodded and walked into her room. Sighing inwardly, Ren turned to face Kento. He bowed politely to the older man. "Please excuse her behavior just now. She was a bit jittery and I have no doubt she was surprised to see you here."

Kento assessed the tall actor before him with critical eyes. "So you're the boyfriend?" he questioned the 21-year-old man. "From the way you're talking, it seems like you know a whole lot about the situation, don't you?"

"Yes, Sir," Ren murmured.

"You know, I haven't approved of your relationship," Kento said.

Ren's eyebrow twitched. "I'm sorry for being rude, Uehara-san," he replied calmly, trying to reign Kuon's rage in, "but as far as I know, Kyoko hasn't acknowledged you as her father. From the way I see it, I still don't need your permission to date her."

Kento eyed the young actor for a while more, before leaning back into the couch and sighed. "True enough," he mumbled. "I haven't even had a decent conversation with her. I hope I'll be able soon, though, and have her acknowledge me, or things can become real difficult in the future."

Confused, Ren wanted to ask what he had meant by that. However, one look from Marina left him speechless.

* * *

"The reason I insisted on calling you here, Yoshimoto-san," Marina began once all of them were seated comfortably in the living room, with plates of pancakes and omelets, accompanied by mugs of coffee, on the coffee table, "is because I believe that all of you have to know something that have to be paid attention to."

She looked at Kyoko uneasily, making the young girl feel that what she was going to talk about was related to her.

Her face instantly was drained of blood when Marina continued. "Mogami Saena came to LME last night and demanded Takarada-san to annul the work contract between LME and Kyoko-san."

Ren and Yoshimoto were immediately alert. Judging from the grim but unsurprised look on Kento's face, Ren could easily guess that the older man had been informed well about what had happened at Lory's office. He had to stifle his laughter when he remembered the image he had imagined when Kuu had been telling him in detail about the cat fight involving his mother, his girlfriend's mother, and the vice-president of a friendly rival company.

His gaze wandered to Marina's arm, which was covered with white gauze near the wrist, before going back to Kyoko, who was as pale as a ceramic statue and trembling. Marina chewed her lower lip guiltily, while absentmindedly rubbing the gauze covering her arm.

"Takarada-san decided to tell me first instead of Kyoko-san because legally, I am her guardian, and a contract between a talent agency and a talent cannot be annulled without both parties knowing the cause. Therefore, I came to LME yesterday to talk to Saena, and that ended up… Let us say, in a violent way.

"That is why, Yoshimoto-san," Marina glanced at Yoshimoto, handing him a picture of Saena she had gotten during their college years – why she had that was even beyond her understanding – "I would like you to prevent Saena from meeting Kyoko-san without my, or Tsuruga-san's presence. Steering the mad woman away from Kyoko-san will be even better."

"Marina," Kento said in a scolding tone, narrowing his eyes at his cousin. He then looked at Yoshimoto. "When you catch sight of her, contact me or Marina as soon as possible. I have to talk to her first if I want to appeal for custody."

Kyoko's eyes widened in fury. "So you want custody now?" she snapped, gripping Ren's hand tightly. "Why didn't you do so before?"

Kento, feeling as guilty as ever, stammered, "Kyoko, I–"

"It's Mogami-san for you, Mister," she hissed angrily. "And let me ask you; where were you when Mother had to raise me alone, while she had to work hard to support us at the same time? Where were you when we needed you the most; when _I _needed you the most?" Kyoko paused to take a deep breath, trying to reign in her tears. "Can you imagine having yourself mocked around because you don't have a father and are left alone to fend for yourself by your mother?"

The room was filled with uncomfortable silence, safe Kyoko's almost inaudible sniffles. Ren drew her into his light embrace, trying to comfort her. Kento stared at the ground beneath his feet, not able to say another word that did not sound like an excuse. A minute later, he stood up.

"I'm leaving to look for a hotel to stay at," he informed a frowning Marina, knowing that his cousin was thinking that he wanted to run away again. "I'll be back here later for sure for my luggage. See you later, Marina."

Yoshimoto cleared his throat uncomfortably while also getting off his seat. He glanced at Kyoko. "Kyoko-san, if you still feel unfit to attend the shoot for Box-R, I can call them and inform them that you'll be late. Would you like me to do that?"

"No," Kyoko croaked, wiping her tears roughly with her sleeves. "I'll go."

* * *

"Wow, you have an unusual face, Nacchan," Makino Honami commented. "Did something happen?"

Kyoko, as Natsu, reacted to her comment with a dramatic surprise. "Eh? Kaori, do you want to say that I've done my make-up wrong?"

The tall, curly-haired actress was taken aback with the reaction. "Ah, no, that's not–"

"Oh, well," Natsu talked again dismissively. "I'll take it that the new colors just did not suit me that well. I should throw it away the moment I get back home."

_What the hell are you saying, Nacchan?! _Kyoko shrieked in her mind. _Which new colors were you talking about?! And are you really intending to throw away _my_ only make-up?!_

Her train of thoughts was cut off when she heard a new voice said, "I think Makino-san was talking about your red eyes, Senpai. Did you just cry?"

Kyoko – or rather, Natsu – turned around to see Amamiya Chiori, already dressed up as Yumika. The shorter girl looked up at her with sincere concern clear in her eyes.

A smile started to creep up on Kyoko's face, only to grow further into a Natsu-patented cold smirk. "No way, Yumika!" Natsu exclaimed. "What did I cry for, anyway?"

"I don't know," Chiori replied slowly. "But may be something troubling happened before you went here?"

"Such as?"

"A problem with your new manager, perhaps? Or maybe, the article?"

Natsu frowned instantly. "Of course not. It's a totally dumb article, for goodness' sake!"

"If you say so," the black-haired girl mumbled with a small smile. "But just to remind you, whenever you have problems, Kotonami-senpai and I are all ears."

Kyoko's eyes widened as realization hit her, Natsu's soul leaving her. _That's right_, she thought. _Why didn't I talk to someone about this? Why didn't I _think_ about this sooner?_

The first person to come up in her mind was her best friend, Kanae. _Surely Moko-san can give me some advice like that time with my problem with Kuon_, she cheerfully smiled inwardly. A second later, she had to completely eradicate the idea, remembering Kanae's feelings about a concept of family.

Talking to her next best friend, her 'sister' Takarada Maria, was also out of question, since she felt that her problem was far more complicated than the little girl's problem with Takarada Kouki, her father, had been.

She knew she could always talk to Chiori – the fellow actress even had offered to – but she was afraid of inconveniencing her. Also, Kyoko just did not know how to address the problem from the very beginning without telling the girl about how her mother had mentally abused her only to abandon her in the end.

Kuon and Marina knew exactly what the problem was, Kyoko figured, but both of them would do everything to comfort her. She knew that they might as well tell her to forget about it if it only hurt her, but that was not what she wanted. She was tired of running away and hiding behind the comfort people gave her. And she sure did not want any pity.

She had not known much about her uncle Seijuro, but in their first meeting, it had been clear to her that the man had a special soft spot for Kento. Talking to him was scratched off the list.

That left her with Lory, Yashiro, Yoshimoto, the Daruma-ya couple, and the Hizuri couple.

Kyoko sighed. _Why do all my problems have to be this complex?_

* * *

"I heard about it from Kuon," Kuu said, rubbing the back of her neck warily. "But do you really have to sulk in the corner like that? It's a bit unsightly, you know? Kyoko."

In front of his eyes, a really gloomy Kyoko was crouching in the corner of the Hizuri couple's room at the accommodation Lory had provided them with an expression not unlike a dead person. Kuu was instantly reminded of the same expression she had worn during his visit to Japan at the end of last year.

Julie, absolutely confused, stared at her foster daughter before approaching the girl and hugging her. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.

Still not saying anything, Kyoko shook her head feebly. In the end, she had decided to approach the Hizuri couple, but once she had seen them, her resolution had wavered like dried leaves. She had come there to talk, yes, but at the moment she felt like she did not know how to speak.

The phone then rang.

"It must be Kuon," Kuu said, standing up from the bed and reaching for the phone. Meanwhile, Julie did not release Kyoko from her embrace.

"…to be true," Kyoko whispered.

Julie was intrigued. "Eh?"

"It seems so much like a fairy tale that it's too good to be true," the golden-eyed actress repeated. "After all this time, my father came back here and claimed that he wanted me to live with him. Even though he didn't even know that he had a child before coming back to Japan, and he did nothing to help me all these years, he suddenly came here–"

The blonde goddess stroked Kyoko's chestnut tresses. "Calm down," she murmured. "I know it's really sudden, and there's so much for you to take, but you need to calm down. Now, honey, why don't we get up and sit down on chairs or the bed instead of the floor? It's uncomfortable, right?"

Julie carefully led Kyoko to stand up and go to the nearest couch in the room. They sat side by side, with the girl still snuggled to the older woman. "Alright, now that we're comfortable," Julie sighed. "Tell me about it."

Tears flowed slowly but steadily down from her eyes to her cheeks before dropping onto her lap. "I just don't know how to react," she murmured. "I was happy to know that I have a father, I _am_, but I'm just not ready to let the fact sink in and to meet him face to face. I'm afraid of the possibility that when I meet him, he will receive me warmly and have my hopes up, only to be disappointed of me in the end and regret his decision of acknowledging me as his daughter. Adding to the problem, now I feel guilty for snapping at him."

"Okay, now hush a bit," Julie said in a voice only slightly above a whisper. "You're a really good girl, Kyoko, you know that? If I were you, I would just smack that guy for good. You have every right to be pissed of him. But why not give him a one-and-only chance?"

"But Mother–"

"And if he rejects you in the end," Julie butted in, "you still have your parents here." She suddenly had a rather cute pout on her face. "Or do you not consider us as your parents?"

Kyoko giggled. "Of course I do, Mother," she replied.

The blonde goddess grinned at her answer. "Good," she gave the chestnut-haired girl a thumbs-up. "Kuu'll be so elated to hear that. And speaking of mothers, I met yours last night," she finished with a growl, surprising Kyoko whose face had started to get pale. "My utmost regret is that I couldn't yank the life out of that wretched woman."

The actress looked up at her boyfriend's mother with wide eyes. "You did what?" she gasped in disbelief.

"Oh, well," Julie explained nonchalantly, "She was punching the hell out of that other woman, your guardian… Miss Akatoki? And your mother called her a whore and demanded to see you, can you believe that? I admit I couldn't think straight that time when I found out she was your mother, and when I realized it, I've had my hands trying to crush her throat and my elbows done giving Kuu hell on the ribs.

"Not really a nice thing to talk about, I know," she admitted, raising her eyebrows with a little embarrassment before continuing with fervor, "But she hurt my daughter! No one has the right to hurt my babies!"

She was surprised when the girl suddenly hugged her tightly. The blonde could not help but smile.

* * *

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	8. Father and Daughter -Tale of the Coward-

**As always, thank you for you who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters! I'm really sorry for not updating as often as I used to. Writer's block sucks :'(**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Father and Daughter ~Tale of the Coward~

Kyoko went back to Marina's apartment to find the ghostwriter busy in the kitchen. Whatever thing in the pot was simmering on the burner; its aroma spreading throughout the whole room. The oven was on, roasting some bread.

The owner of the condominium was in the middle of busying herself with a stubborn jar lid.

"Ah, welcome back, Kyoko-san," she said when she noticed Kyoko peeking from the living room. "I hope you are having your dinner here today. I am planning a feast."

"I-I'm home," Kyoko stuttered, not accustomed to the new environment. She quickly relaxed when she saw Marina's warm smile at her, and sauntered to the couch to put her bag down. "What's the occasion, if I may know?"

Her aunt stared at her in disbelief. "Is it not obvious enough?" she asked, feigning annoyance. "You left me to have my dinner alone yesterday I missed my chance to have a welcome party for you. Now I want you to sit tight or do any other things. I am forbidding you to enter the kitchen for tonight–"

Marina suddenly stared down at the jar in her hands, still refusing to be opened. Sheepishly, she looked up at Kyoko while offering the jar. "But perhaps you are able to help with this?"

The actress giggled at that. "Sure," she replied, taking the jar from her aunt.

"By the way, Kyoko-san," Marina said, looking at Kyoko who was trying to unscrew her so-called 'blasphemy', "I hope you do not mind, and do not take my intention in the wrong way, but I have invited Kento to dinner."

The unscrewing hand halted all its movements. The chestnut-haired girl stared at the older woman warily. "He's coming?" she asked nervously.

* * *

In the deepest part of her being, both her angels and demons were in an uproar of panic.

"Isn't it good? It's a chance!" Angel A said with overly sparkling eyes.

"Yes! A chance!" Demon C repeated with a killing grin on her face. "FOR REVENGE!"

"NO!" Angel B shouted, completely horrified at the idea. "Remember what Mama Julie said! Give him a chance!"

"But he abandoned Mommy for so long!" Demon B grumbled. "But it doesn't matter; the problem now is what Mommy should do when he comes! Mommy isn't ready to meet him again this quick!"

"You're right," Demon A agreed. "Angels! I propose a truce for now! We need to be united for Mistress' sake!"

"I agree!" Angel B replied. "So what shall we propose Kyoko-chan to do?"

Demon F chuckled evilly. "Why don't we let Mio handle him?"

"No can do," Angel A shook her head. "And no Natsu or Setsu either. Kyoko-chan needs to confront her father by herself, or else–"

"HE IS _NOT_ MISTRESS' FATHER YET!"

"I'M NOT FINISHED!" Angel A yelled angrily at the demons, which instantly shrunk at her fury. She cleared her throat and continued, "Or else the problem won't be solved. You all know that running away won't do any good for Kyoko-chan at this moment, the same as when she had to confront her feelings for Kuon-chan."

"Kuon-_chan_?" Demon D sneered. "Are you seriously calling our Demon Lord with the suffix 'chan'? What the hell are you thinking?"

"He's the sweet fairy prince Corn!"

"It's not important for now, so can you guys stop it?" Demon A butted in monotonously.

Demon B sighed. "Why is the Demon Lord not here when Mommy needs him the most?"

* * *

Yashiro and everyone in the studio were gaping in astonishment at the sight before their eyes.

The hailed mighty actor and bachelor, Tsuruga Ren, was sneezing.

Not forgetting to mention, it was so sudden it did not look gentlemanly at all.

The tall dark-haired man quickly excused himself with a sheepish smile that was enough to melt all females in the room into puddles before walking towards his manager, who was staring at him skeptically.

"Ren," Yashiro started, "don't tell me that you're catching a cold."

"Hm? Of course I'm not," Ren replied with a frown. "I'm feeling just fine. Although I just got the impression that someone was talking about me."

"I wonder who that someone was," the bespectacled man said with his devil grin. "I bet it was definitely something related to Kyoko-chan."

"Yashiro-san," the actor sighed exasperatedly. "Why in the world do you always relate anything that happens to me to her?"

Yashiro gaped once again. "What are you saying?" he asked in disbelief. "Ren, she's practically the axis of your life now – aside from work that is. She literally controls your moods."

"Okay, I won't deny that," Ren said after mulling over it for a bit. "But I heard that usually people sneeze like how I did whenever others talk badly about him, no?"

"That's not always the case," his manager denied. "It happens whenever other people talk about you _passionately_."

"Then it doesn't have to be Kyoko, right?" he continued with a small knowing smile. "It can be anyone. My fans, perhaps."

Yashiro's grin grew wider. "But you do hope that the one who was talking about you _passionately _was Kyoko-chan, right? Right? _Right?_"

"Damn, Yashiro-san," Ren sighed again. "You're starting to sound a lot like my old man. There's no winning with you guys."

"I'll take that as a compliment," his companion gave him a cat-like grin. "By the way, how was yesterday?"

The actor was a bit startled at the sudden change of topic. "Ah, yeah," he stammered. "It was great. Nice place; fitting her taste, at least."

"I bet Akatoki-san had a set of Baroque-style furniture in her house," Yashiro nodded to himself.

"Err… Actually, it was more to modern country-styled, homey rooms. Except for that Egyptian recliner she had in the living room. You have to see her library; it was unbelievably massive." Ren paused for a while, suddenly reminded of something. "Yashiro-san, you called me yesterday afternoon, right? What was that about?"

Yashiro stopped at his place and slapped his forehead hard Ren was sure it would leave a mark. He exclaimed, "How could I forget about it? Look, Ren, you'll never guess who I saw yesterday!"

"Yes, you said it yesterday," the younger man retorted. "Now tell me who you were talking about."

"It was a woman named Mogami Saena!" Yashiro continued. "And she was so persistent, demanding to see the president and saying that it was urgent. I don't know why, but I just had this impression that that woman was–"

"Kyoko's mother," Ren continued for him with a sour expression. "Yes, Yashiro-san, she is. And I also heard from Marina-san about the reason why she was there."

"And that is?" the manager asked with nervous anticipation.

Ren sighed. "I don't know, Yashiro-san. I don't think it's really my place to tell you. It's Kyoko's private family problem. Oh, and by the way, I think you know her new manager well."

Yashiro's subject of interest was successfully changed. "Really? Who?"

"Your friend, Yoshimoto Tsukumo."

"Ah! Yoshi!" Yashiro exclaimed happily. "Damn, I miss that guy! The last time I saw him is when I went to his wedding reception. So he's working for LME now?"

"Apparently yes," Ren shrugged.

The bespectacled man got a dreamy expression on his face. "I'd like to catch up with him some time," he said. "He was so good and always up to date with gadgets, and he used to always have good games in his cell phone."

_Ah, I think this is what Yoshimoto-san was talking about_, Ren thought. _Now I undeniably pity the guy._

"People, places!" the director called. Ren glanced at his watch – a new one to replace Rick's due to Kyoko's insistence. _7.30. I wonder why she hasn't called to pester me about dinner._

* * *

_Good Lord_, Marina thought, completely irritated. _How in the world does the atmosphere become like this?_

Kyoko and Kento were seated in front of her sight, silently and awkwardly nibbling the dinner. The two were so fidgety Marina was sure they would jump really high when startled. Beside her, Seijuro was thinking hard about the ways to break the uncomfortable silence.

The older of Akatoki siblings reached for his wine glass and took a sip, frowning a bit at his cousin and the chestnut-haired girl. "So, Kyoko-chan," he began casually, "I heard that you came to Tokyo almost 2 years ago?"

Kyoko's attention was shifted to Seijuro's friendly yet desperate attempt to start a comfortable conversation. "Ah," she mumbled. "Yes, that's right."

"Do you go to high school here?"

"Yes. President Takarada is kind enough to enroll me into Shimada High School," Kyoko elaborated, feeling that her uncle's smile was infectious.

Seijuro's brows furrowed a bit in recognition. "Shimada High…" he muttered, tapping his chin. "Where have I heard it before? Did that ring a bell to you, Marina?"

"It might have," Marina replied, inwardly thanking her usually goofy brother for breaking the awkward situation. "If I reckon correctly, some of our talents, including Nanokura Mimori are enrolled as students at that school. It is one of the only few high schools which accommodates teenage stars, after all."

"Yeah, that's it." He nodded. "So, how's school, Kyoko-chan? I bet you're pretty popular, with your epic performance as Mio in Dark Moon and all."

_As expected of Seijuro-niisan_, Kento thought, sweat-dropping. _No wonder he was called the Master of Flattery._ His gaze shifted to his daughter, who was fidgeting with embarrassment.

"I was only an amateur that time," Kyoko mumbled, smiling nervously with a blush peppering her cheeks. "Although it makes me happy that people love my performance as Mio, calling it epic is a bit–"

"No, I'm serious, Kyoko-chan," Seijuro said, all humor gone from his jolly face. "I knew very well that you were a complete amateur – aside from doing wonderfully in our Sho's 'Prisoner' – and that's why I said your Mio was epic. Now, where were we? School?"

Kyoko was taken aback at her uncle's pace. "Err… School's really great," she stammered. "But I won't dare say that I'm popular; in fact, I don't think I have any single friend there."

The three adults gaped at her. _Not any single friend? _Kento repeated inside his head disbelievingly. _Seriously? Even when there are a lot of people paying attention to her in the media?_

"You are graduating soon, aren't you, Kyoko-san?" Marina asked, calling Kento's attention back to the dinner. "Have you had any plan for after you graduate from high school?"

The girl suddenly had the urge to play with her fingers. "I don't know," she said, focusing on the entangling digits. "I haven't thought about it in details, but I do hope I can still continue acting, and paying President Takarada back for the acting school."

"You do love acting, don't you?" Kento blurted out.

Instantly the room fell into another awkward silence. _Oh great_, Seijuro groaned inwardly. _After all my efforts, you just blurted out one sentence and they were all ruined. Damn you, Kento._

But to everyone's surprise – and Marina's relief – Kyoko gave out a sweet, friendly smile at Kento. She answered happily, "Yes, I do. Very much."

"Good for you," Kento said, smiling warmly as well to his daughter. "Do you model as well, Kyo-Mogami-san?"

The budding actress was silent for a while, scaring the three adults who were looking at her intently. "…fine," she mumbled.

"Eh?"

"Calling me 'Kyoko' is fine," Kyoko repeated with a low voice, blushing fervently. Her eyes stared at Kento nervously from aside.

The artist gaped again. "A-ah…" he stuttered. "If you say so… Kyoko… san."

_Good for you, Kento_, the Akatoki siblings thought, completely relieved for their poor cousin. _Good for you, although we still think you kind of don't deserve it one bit._

"I also have to admit that I am curious myself," Marina added. "I gather that your popularity as a recognized beauty in show business world has shot up due to your portrayal of Kitagawa Natsu in 'Box-R', so I am rather surprised to discover that you have not had any modeling experience so far. Do you not have any interest in modeling?"

"No, it's not that," Kyoko denied, shaking her head rapidly. "Father – I mean, Hizuri-san once told me to specify my career pathway to acting in dramas and movies, and so far there hasn't been any offer to model…" Her voice gradually turned into nothing but whispers.

"But if there's an offer, will you accept it?" Seijuro asked.

Kyoko shook her head again. "I don't know. I think it will also depend on President's decision. I'm still practically in his special division, you see."

To her irritation, Seijuro burst into a hearty laughter. "I-I've heard about that d-division," he tried to talk while struggling to calm his mirth down. "It's called 'LoveMe Department', no? And the members have to wear a shocking pink work overall?"

"Yes, that's right," the girl replied in annoyance, her voice dripping with venomous honey. "And in fact, I have one of the cursed overall in my room; do you want to try wearing the infamous 'LoveMe overall', _Uncle_?"

All blood drained from the neat man's face. He shook his head fervently. "No, Kyoko-chan, I'd rather not, thank you. And it won't fit me, anyway."

Marina snorted at her brother's terrified face.

"Do you have interests other than acting?" Kento asked Kyoko earnestly, wanting to know more about the girl.

"I have to admit that I enjoy doing housework, especially cooking," Kyoko said. "I learned cooking when I lived in Fuwa Inn, and I worked at Daruma-ya until yesterday. I feel really happy when people enjoy my cooking."

_Especially when Ren say it's delicious_, she added silently. _Now that I mentioned it, I wonder whether he has had his dinner. Better call him after dessert._

Seijuro whistled in awe. "So, did you make any contribution in this," he gestured to the lavish dinner on the dining table, "Kyoko-chan?"

She shook her head while having a small smile on her face. "I just helped opening a jar lid," she murmured sheepishly, triggering another of Seijuro's jollity.

Kento raised his eyebrows in amusement. "I didn't mean that kind of interest, although that one is good, too," he said. "Do you read books?"

"I do."

"What kinds of books?"

Kyoko's lips were clamped shut again while her expression got flustered. Marina only snickered. _I bet she is embarrassed to admit that she likes fairytales with princesses and fairies_, she guessed.

"Kyoko-san has a soft spot for fantasy stories, hasn't she?" the younger Akatoki spoke on her niece's behalf. "For example, the story of Cendrillon or Briar Rose. She even likes 'True Reflection' very much."

"Yeah right," Seijuro retorted with sarcasm. "Stories with royalties and ethereal creatures and magic; I just can't understand the charming point of those. I mean, okay, I can stomach 'True Reflection', since it's about angels and demons, but everyone should know that a happy ever after never exists in reality…"

His voice trailed down when he realized three pairs of angry eyes boring holes on his head, and he could not help but gulp audibly in fear.

* * *

"It's really nice to have a chance to talk with you, Kyoko-san," Kento mused to the young girl beside him while Marina sent Seijuro out the door with a venomous sweet smile.

Kyoko stared at him nervously. "No, that's alright," she replied meekly. "The pleasure is mine."

He gave her a small wry smile and sighed. "So you like fantasy stories," he confirmed. "Do you want to hear one?"

Hearing the words 'fantasy stories' mentioned, her ears perked up in interest. Kento had to contain his chuckle when she turned to him with eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"Okay," he sighed. "Once upon a time, there lived an innocent young man who had been sheltered pompously by his family. He knew no hardships of work, but he was no stranger to being all by himself."

_What innocent young man? _Marina sneered in her mind when she caught up to their conversation from the hallway to give them privacy. _You were far from innocent when we were children, you know._

"His life somehow got better after he was introduced to two children by the same age. From then, his little world expanded as he began to know the beauty of arts and ethereal creatures whenever he stepped out of his dark home. Having only those for his entire being, he was sure he was happy.

"But when he grew up and stepped in into the society, he met a woman who was the exact opposite of what he was; she came from a poor family, she was familiar to hardships her entire life and she strived to make her world better. The woman was shunned by other people, but somehow the man knew that she might be better than what she seemed."

_Hang on, this does not sound as a fantasy story_, Marina thought, sweat-dropping. _Kento, you are practically telling her about your life realistically! At least put Saena as a witch or something similar to that!_

"They fell in love with each other deeply," Kento continued, letting out a sad smile, "or that was how he thought it was.

"The poor woman wasn't good with people, and she had ambitions for her life, which did not include him. He knew that, and he felt really insecure. One day, because of her darkening heart she blurted out something really bad, and it hurt him.

"He started wondering if it was his entire fault, and if he hadn't known enough of the vast world. So he left on a journey to see the world, without knowing that he left behind a precious treasure. During his journey, many times he wanted to go back and see her, but got scared when he started to think, 'Have I seen enough of the world?' And without realizing it, a long time had passed before his eyes.

"When he finally summoned all his courage to face her again, he found out that he had lost her and his precious treasure, and that was when he realized how cowardly and stupid he was," Kento finished the story. He glanced at Kyoko, who was looking at him wide-eyed. "I admit that I'm a coward, and because of my indecisiveness, many people were hurt. But I also understand that things can't go on like this, and I can't make myself run away anymore. I just want a chance to make things right and atone for my faults."

Kyoko could not say anything. He sighed and took out a small notebook and a pen from his pocket. He scribbled something on the book and ripped the paper off before giving it to Kyoko. "I know you still need time to discern everything, so I'll give you some time," he said. "On this paper is where I'm staying for the moment. Come see me whenever you make your decision on how to act on the situation."

He got up and walked towards the hallway, smiling knowingly at Marina who was staring at him with mixed expressions. "Thanks for the dinner," he murmured.

Kyoko heard the sound of the front door opening and closing, still not able to say anything, the paper grasped tight in her hands.

* * *

**I'm not sure if what Yashiro said about the sneezing is correct. If I made a mistake, please do notify me!**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	9. Press Conference -Wounds and Decisions-

**As always, thank you very much for you who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters.** **I noticed that readers favoriting "True Reflection" are still growing in number. I'm so happy and feel honored!**

**muchachomomo, this is your birthday present in clearer form! Thank you as well for the private reviews and for being able to stomach my rambling on the PMs! You're a great - although a little crazy :p- friend!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 9: Press Conference ~Wounds and Decisions~

In her apartment, Shoko was eyeing suspiciously her bottle blond charge who was fiddling with his guitar for a new song. After a moment, the stare grew vicious that Sho could not bear with it anymore.

"What?" he snapped, feeling annoyed to the very end.

"Sho," she murmured, still narrowing her eyes at him. "You're not thinking of saying something stupid at the press conference tomorrow, are you?"

He lifted one eyebrow in something Shoko recognized as amusement. "What're you talking about, Shoko-san?" he asked nonchalantly.

"You're not going to say anything unnecessary about your relationship with Kyoko, are you?" she elaborated.

A smug smile came across the singer's face, making her want to groan loudly. "You'll see."

* * *

"So?" Kanae asked through the phone. "What will you do?"

Kyoko sighed, her hand still grasping Kento's address. "I honestly don't know. What should I do, Moko-saaaaaaaaan?"

"WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME? MO!" the ravenette snapped. "This is your personal problem! Mo, think about it yourself!"

"Moko-san, you're cruel!" Kyoko whined.

Kanae groaned. "For Pete's sake, he's your father, right? He's apologized sincerely, what else do you need?"

"It's just," the chestnut-haired girl stammered, "What if he rejects me in the end?"

"Then just kick his ass."

She gasped. "Moko-san!"

"Mo, Kyoko," Kanae grumbled impatiently. "From what you told me earlier, he just wanted a chance to act properly like your father. And by the way, why were you so accepting to the fact that Akatoki-san was your relative but not when you met your father?"

"They're different cases."

"But that's just plain weird, mo!" the second LoveMe member stated. "Usually if someone meets a parent, even if he hasn't met the parent before, they will feel a strange connection with each other."

Kyoko's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Or so people say."

The younger actress fell comically to the floor. "Moko-san, that's not really convincing."

"I know," Kanae mumbled. "I don't even know what I was talking about. But hey, who's kidding? You know exactly the reason I'm in LoveMe."

"And don't you want to do something to improve that?" Kyoko asked curiously.

Her best friend automatically deadpanned, "Like hell I will. For something little, perhaps yes, but for something that requires me to be acting crazily doting towards my already insane family? No can do."

Kyoko could only chuckle.

"By the way, are you ready for the press conference tomorrow? Is your father coming?" Kanae asked, trying to change the subject of the conversation.

The pair of golden eyes widened as its owner felt blood draining from her face. "Oh no," she gasped. "I completely forgot about the press conference."

* * *

When Yoshimoto came to pick his charge at the Akatoki's apartment, he somehow managed to look less surprised than how he actually was as he found Kyoko, sleep-deprived and stressed out of her mind.

The girl was sitting on the couch with dark aura surrounding her; in her hands the notes about the possible questions and answers needed to counter the press later. Her mouth was moving in frenzy, spouting the answers she was memorizing as if chanting magic spells.

She was having her entire focus on the notes she did not sense Yoshimoto standing right in front of her and calling her name.

Marina came in with a plate full of sandwiches. "Good morning, Yoshimoto-san," she greeted him with a smile. "I hope you had a pleasant night rest?"

"I did, thank you for asking," he replied, glancing at the older woman for a few seconds before looking at Kyoko again worriedly.

The ghostwriter chuckled. "Apparently she forgot the fact that she was having a press conference today until Kotonami-san reminded her on the phone last night. I do not think it is wise to disturb her for the moment. Have you had breakfast?"

"No, I haven't," Yoshimoto answered. "How in the world could she forget?"

"A lot of things happened yesterday night," Marina answered sheepishly. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"That would be nice. Thank you for the offer, Akatoki-san." The manager glanced at Kyoko once more before walking towards the kitchen. "Would you like me to help?"

"No, thank you, although your thoughts are appreciated," she said, pouring the steaming hot coffee into a porcelain mug before handing it to Yoshimoto. "Things aside, I am curious of one thing. I notice that you have a rather silvery hue in your eyes."

Instinctively, his fingers flew to under his eyes. "Ah, yeah," he stuttered, completely taken aback by the sudden inquiry. "I heard that my grandma's mother was a Russian."

"Does your family come from Hokkaido?"

"My grandma does. She moved to Tokyo decades ago to marry my gramps."

Marina nodded. "I see. And I also notice that your charge has finally noticed your presence."

Yoshimoto turned around and, true to Marina's words, saw a pretty surprised Kyoko.

"Yoshimoto-san," she gasped. "Since when have you been here? I didn't notice you at all!"

"I figured as much," he grumbled, while the Akatoki female let out a small laugh.

* * *

In his hotel room, Kento was busy flipping the heavy phonebook he had found in the desk's drawer, looking for a particular Mogami in the 'M' section. So far, he had managed to find 'Mogami Kakeru', 'Mogami Saito', 'Mogami Tsuguo', and 'Mogami Reiichi'. No 'Mogami Saena' so far.

_Maybe she lives in another person's place_, he thought, raking his memories of the woman for any possible places she could be.

What he remembered of Saena was the knowledge that she was an only child raised by a single mother. Her father had died when she had been 7 years old, and before that her parents had long divorced. She had been living with her mother ever since, so Saena practically had no significant memories about her father. The pair of mother and daughter had lived in a rundown apartment, the only place affordable for them, until her mother remarried.

An idea hit him. _Perhaps she moved back in with her mother? If I'm not mistaken, her mother's name was Saeko, and that time she remarried with a Takegawa…_

He scanned the phonebook again for Takegawas. But soon, he stopped the search. _Damn, I forgot the stepfather's name. _He scowled. _This search is going to be a total pain in the ass. There are a lot of females named Saeko alone in Tokyo._

His phone rang loudly, snapping him out of his wandering train of thoughts. He got up tiredly from the chair, a part of him happy for the sudden distraction. The display showed 'Minazuki Yayoi', and he was suddenly overcome with dread.

He gingerly pushed the answering button and brought the phone to his ears. "Hello?"

"SENSEIIIIIIIII!" a voice of a woman shrieked, making Kento instinctively threw his hand which was holding the phone as far as possible from his hearing appendage. "WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU?!"

Kento gulped in fear. "Yayoi-chan."

"ANSWER ME! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU, SENSEI?"

"Err…" he muttered guiltily. "Tokyo?"

An awkward silence ensued over the phone, and the woman screamed bloody murder. "WHY THE HECK ARE YOU IN TOKYO? SENSEI, YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE GOING TO STAY IN OSAKA UNTIL THE END OF THE EXHIBITION!"

"Well, something important came up, so–"

"WHAT ABOUT THE INTERVIEW APPOINTMENTS? THE GALA INVITATION? THE MEETINGS WITH ART CRITIQUES?"

The room phone rang. _Saved by another phone._ "Yayoi-chan, I have another call. I'll leave the arrangements all to you."

"Sensei, what–"

"I'll call you back later."

"But, Sen–" Kento disconnected the call abruptly while sighing in relief. _Saved by the phone_, he thought. Still having his cell phone in his hand, he walked over to the room phone on the bedside table.

"Room 307, Uehara speaking," he answered the phone with a rather uncaring tone. _Must be the reception offering room service._

"Uehara-sama, there is someone by the name of Akatoki Seijuro wanting to speak with you. Should I connect him through?"

_Seijuro-niisan? _He was puzzled. "Yes, please do."

Soon, Seijuro's goofy, friendly voice was heard. "Hey, cousin! How are you today?"

"In detail?" the artist replied tiredly. "I was busy poring over the phonebook for any clue of Saena's location until my agent called me and let out a banshee-like shriek right into my delicate ear–"

He was butted in by the older Akatoki. "Okay, at least you're having a life going on. And that's not really the point of calling you."

"Then why asked?" Kento grumbled.

"The press conference will be starting soon. It's broadcasted live in almost all stations. I think you might want to know."

Kento was clueless. "What press conference?"

"Kyoko-chan's press conference, stupid, what else? Whoops, have to go. I'll see you soon."

The call was cut off, leaving the golden-eyed man speechless. He put the receiver back onto the phone station and reached for the remote control before turning the television on.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," Lory began. "First of all, I would like to thank all of you for gathering here in my humble abode on this fine day."

All people in the large room sweat-dropped when they saw the flamboyant president standing on the stage beside the seated Kyoko, dressed as an _onimusha_. Marina, who was seated at the other end of the long table, had to do her best to not laugh.

While Kyoko had already decided to not think anything about her employer's antics and just focus on the serious matters, Sho and Shoko – who was standing near the stage beside Yoshimoto – were gob smacked. _Is he seriously wearing that to a press conference?_ they screamed in their minds.

"Let's just get to the point," Lory continued with a serious face. "We are here to clarify the rumors started by an article published in Hinokuni Shinbun two days ago regarding the relationship between a talent of LME, KYOKO-san, and a singer of Akatoki Agency, Fuwa Sho-san.

"We hereby officially declare that the relationship between the two is strictly close friendship and has nothing romantic." The people from the press murmured noisily. "And although the arranged marriage is true, it is only acknowledged verbally by the Fuwa family, and KYOKO-san has not been notified of the arrangements. Thus, we can safely conclude that the arranged marriage is not obligated for both talents. Now, we permit questions."

Hands shot up among the crowds. Lory calmly called. "StarWeekly."

"KYOKO-san," the journalist began curiously. "In the article, it was also mentioned that you lived together with Fuwa-san's family since childhood because you were abandoned by your parents. Is this statement true?"

Lory and Sho, both sitting with her side by side, could feel Kyoko stiffening a bit. She heaved a huge breath in before clenching her fists and answering as calm as possible, as she had memorized from her notes.

"It's indeed true that I have been kindly taken in by the Fuwas when I was around 8 years old and lived with them until the moment I moved to Tokyo, but I believe that was because my mother was very busy with her work and was not able to take care of me."

"But there hasn't been any contact from her, is that correct?"

Kyoko gulped. "It's true, but she must have her reason, and I'm sure that she always has my wellbeing in her mind. To say that she abandoned me is uncalled for."

Another hand shot up. "Idol Beat," Lory gestured to the eager journalist.

"Takarada-san, from KYOKO-san's earlier statement, we can safely assume that she hasn't had any contact with her mother up to this moment, which means that she hasn't legally received permission to work in your agency from her mother. Are you not afraid of being sued?"

Lory raised one hand to silence the journalist. "I understand the implication of your statement, and indeed it was a very serious matter the first time KYOKO-kun joined LME. But as this moment, she has received permission to work in and debut as a talent of LME from her guardian, Akatoki Marina-san."

Loud, uneasy whispers and murmurs emerged from the journalists and reporters in front of them. More hands were raised. "CanCan." The journalist stood up instantly when Lory called his magazine's name.

"Akatoki-san, may we know your relationship with KYOKO-chan?"

"Of course you may," Marina answered with a smile she usually used for business matters. "I, and my older brother Seijuro, are relatives of Kyoko-san's father, who prefers to have his name not mentioned until all of us decide that the time is right to avoid more confusion regarding the matter we are addressing now. I am appointed Kyoko-san's legal guardian by him through written correspondence which can be assured as entirely legal by law."

_Although my lawyers have to twist Kento's words a lot to make the letter presentable to the court_, she added inwardly, cringing. _No one is going to take a letter mentioning fairies._

Lory spoke again. "TeenMagz."

"KYOKO-san, if you have family members in Akatoki Agency, why did you choose to be employed in LME? Are you going to consider transferring to Akatoki Agency?"

Kyoko – actually, together with LME's PR division – had expected this question. "I've been employed in LME way long before I met Akatoki-san, and I've no intention to resign from LME and move to Akatoki Agency. This decision has been approved by both Marina-san and Seijuro-san."

She stole a glance to Lory who nodded approvingly at her before speaking again. "Girl's."

"This question is for all of you, although it might be more towards Fuwa-san," the columnist from 'Girl's' began. "In the article, the arranged marriage was mentioned by an anonymous source. Do you have any idea of who this anonymous source might be?"

Lory scowled a bit. _If I have known, I'd have personally interrogated this anonymous_. "Unfortunately, we haven't had any clue on this person. I think it might be best to ask Hinokuni Shinbun about this. Last question."

Hands were raised eagerly like hungry puppies. "HanaYume."

"A question for Fuwa-san. Is your declaration of love for KYOKO-san only a hoax to promote the new single?"

The room instantly was set into an uproar. _Oh no, _Shoko thought, _not this question._

Sho smirked. "Honestly? No. I meant every word I told Sanada-san."

* * *

_That f****** prick! _Ren hissed in rage. At the moment he was having his break on the set, watching the press conference on his phone together with Yashiro. _I swear, when I meet him the next time, I'll send his damn ass through unimaginable hell._

On the phone, he could see his boss and Marina seething with anger, glaring holes into Sho's head. Kyoko, on the other hand, looked ready to kill the singer right there and then.

The actress grabbed the microphone in front of her and, sweetly smiling – like what she had done to Kento the day before, Ren noticed – and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down and listen. I will not say anything to deny Fuwa-san's declaration as a lie or a joke. But, I have to make it clear right now that I am NOT interested in accepting whatever his feelings towards me are. I only see Fuwa-san as a dear friend of mine."

Ren snorted in total contentment when he saw Sho's proud smirk fell. _Atta girl_, he thought_. Good job, Kyoko._

* * *

Mogami Saena was channel flipping from her seat in her office, her eyes looking blankly at the screen. Her finger constantly pushed the button on the remote control, like she was a robot programmed to do just that.

However, her heart was full with uncontrollable wrath.

She had been wanting to watch the afternoon news, and turned on the TV only to find every station broadcasting a useless press conference of the celebrities she did not care to know. Her mood fell rapidly when she saw Sho and Kyoko, chestnut-haired, on the screen.

She had quickly grabbed the remote control and started looking for another channel, and finally stopped when she saw something different.

A female reporter was smiling happily to the camera; behind her was the view of a painting exhibition. "Good afternoon! This is Ketsuno Anna reporting from the Suzuki Convention Center, Osaka! As we can see, a lot of art enthusiasts can't wait to see the masterpieces done by our country's most prominent artists! And this time, the attention is directed solely towards an infamous artist that is making his comeback into Japan's art business after temporarily retiring for almost a decade: Uehara Kento-sensei!"

Saena's eyes widened at the mention of the name. A staff went to whisper something to the reporter, and her excitement went down a bit.

"Unfortunately, we could not meet Uehara-sensei today, since he is away, but let's talk to his representative, Minatsuki Yayoi-san!" The camera zoomed out to reveal another woman next to Ketsuno, dressed in simple blouse and skirt. Her long hair was braided on the back, and a pair of metal-framed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.

Ketsuno chirped again. "Minatsuki-san, Uehara-sensei's sudden decision of coming back to Japan is rather surprising, isn't it? Can you tell us the reason why he decided to come back?"

"I'm not really sure," Minatsuki chuckled lightly. "But I think he has had enough of travelling and finding himself."

"And why is he not here?"

"He has some business in Tokyo he has to manage, he told me so." Minatsuki sighed. "So for people who want to see his face, there is the main attraction of this exhibition: his first portrait, and furthermore of himself."

Minatsuki gestured to one of the displayed paintings on the wall, and the camera shifted to focus on the picture of a man with black hair and golden eyes.

Panic and dread attacked Saena's entire being. Beads of cold sweat rolled down her temple. Her hand tightened her grip on the remote control, and before she realized it, the device had made hard contact with the television, shattering it and leaving the TV screen cracked.

An urgent knock was heard from her door. "Mogami-sensei!" her assistant asked worriedly. "What happened in there, Mogami-sensei?"

Huffing furiously and drenched in cold sweats, Saena grabbed her purse and slammed the door open, startling the poor assistant. Without saying anything, she strode past her in panic, bumping her shoulder with the other person's and left the office.

The assistant, confused beyond words, walked gingerly into the empty room and gasped in shock. The space was like hell broke loose; little shards of glass from the cracked TV screen mixed with the broken remote control, papers strewn all over the desk, and on top of the coffee table, there was the gossip column of Hinokuni Shinbun published two days ago, the picture of KYOKO ripped to nothing with a pair of scissors resting beside it.

* * *

The artist sighed heavily for the umpteenth time that day, finally giving up on the search. _Might as well hire a private eye_, he thought grimly. _May be someone like that famous… who's his name again? Mori Kogoro?_

Resting his tired eyes, he evened his breathing. His thoughts wandered to the press conference he watched hours ago, and a smile spread across his face. _She was so great and dazzling in there_, he admitted proudly. _I'm very lucky to have you as a daughter, Kyoko-san._

A knock interrupted his daydream. Puzzled, he opened his eyes, got up from the chair, walked to the door. He opened it to reveal chestnut hair below his eyesight.

Mogami Kyoko stood in front of him with blush on her face, her fingers fidgeting, her golden eyes looking at him nervously.

* * *

**Additional disclaimers:  
-I do not own Ketsuno Anna; Sorachi Hideaki-sensei does  
-I also do not own Mori Kogoro and Suzuki Convention Center; Aoyama Gosho-sensei does  
-As I am at it, I do not own 'CanCan' as well; I believe Arai Kiyoko-sensei does  
-'Idol Beat' is borrowed from FaerieLight (thanks a lot ;))  
-And... Obviously, I do not own 'HanaYume' (I was running out of magazine name ideas)  
-Lory's cosplay idea is courtesy to GinGitsuneIX. Your ideas are fantastic.  
-And I think I need to mention that 'Mogami Tsuguo' is a rightful existing person on his own; I'm not sure about the other Mogamis, though.**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	10. Second Chance -Two Sides of Life-

**As usual, thank you very much for you who faved, followed, or reviewed the previous chapters of 'The Next Episode' and its prequel, 'True Reflection'. The motivation is all thanks to you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

**A/N: Rewritten a bit to correct grammar mistakes. Courtesy to kaitlynchosenisme (Thanks! I owe you big time)**

* * *

Chapter 10: Second Chance ~Two Sides of Life~

Aki Shoko had heard that it would be always better not to piss either of her bosses off. Never had she known that the statement itself was an understatement.

In front of her eyes was Sho, forced to double over on the floor in a prostrating position after being kneed with force on the groin by a furious Marina. By the looks of it, Shoko thought, it was not going to finish with just that.

Towering over the young Fuwa was the vice-president, who was looking at him with a narrow, menacing glare. In rage, she stomped her foot onto his back, making sure to avoid her heels from hitting his body and head. Next to her, Lory was making halfhearted attempts to stop her.

"WHAT IN ALL REALMS OF HEAVENS WERE YOU SETTING YOUR MINDS AT?!" Marina growled viciously, stomping down after each word. "I cannot believe that you can be this featherbrained! Imbecile! Now those people will not stop at nothing to hog information to please the media!"

"Marina-chan, stop this!" Lory exclaimed feebly. "Even if you beat up this lad here to smithereens, the milk has been spilt. On the contrary, you can be sued for physical abuse! Having Mogami-kun's guardian brought to court is the last thing I want to happen."

Marina's foot froze millimeters from Sho's already abused back. "You are right," she said, retracting her limb back. "For once, I cannot refute you, Takarada-san."

Sho groaned in pain and straightened himself to stand up, only to fail miserably and thud back on to the floor butt first. He scowled at Marina, who blatantly ignored him and walked away towards the LME president.

"Other thing aside, where is Kyoko-san?" she asked. "I have not seen her since the press conference concluded."

"She's left already right after it," Lory answered, his face a bit puzzled. "Although before leaving, she asked me where Teikoku Hotel was."

The ghostwriter turned her head to him, eyebrows raised in surprise."Did you say Teikoku Hotel?"

"Uh-huh."

"I see…" Marina mumbled, a smile slowly spread on her face.

* * *

The moment Kyoko saw the pair of golden eyes alike hers, she immediately lost all her resolve to come meet Kento and talk about their problems.

Kento becoming dumbfounded right after he had seen her at his doorsteps did not help matters.

She fidgeted on her feet, growing anxious of the pregnant silence. Could not bear keeping eye contact with the older man, she decided to look down at the floor.

The artist cleared his throat uncomfortably and said, "Why don't you come in?" He then stepped aside to let her in; all the while he berated himself that he had said the lamest thing he could have managed. That was, if the whole atmosphere had permitted him to do so.

The girl contemplated her decision for a moment, thinking over if _this_ – going over to Kento to give him his chance – was the right one to make. Nevertheless, she walked gingerly into the small room –somehow relieved that this man claiming to be her father was not staying in a hotel suite. She honestly did not know why in the world she could be mulling over such thing. Must be the nerves getting into her already more than nervous heart.

Kyoko heard the door closing softly behind her, and she turned around to see Kento looking back at her awkwardly – as nervous as she was. He gestured to the chairs. "Have a seat; you don't want to keep standing and tire your feet, do you?" he offered, to which she nodded in silent agreement.

As she sat herself down, her eyes caught the sight of the thick phonebook, still opened at the names beginning with 'M'. She raised a skeptical eyebrow at the man. "Are you looking for my mother?"

He nodded. "I told you before that I needed to talk to her about things." He scratched the back of his head gawkily. "And I also need to apologize to her about what happened between the two of us. And about what happened to you, based on what Marina has told me. You've cleared things about the abandonment in the press conference; and yes, I watched it," he said quickly when Kyoko gaped at him in surprise, "and you were _amazing_ in there. Especially when you rejected that boy flatly in front of his face and the press, I couldn't help but laughing."

Kyoko blushed ten shades of red, earning a small humored chuckle from her father. He smiled proudly at her. "It seems that you've found the world made just for you. I'm glad."

"It's thanks to a lot of people; Sho included even when I don't want to admit it," Kyoko said. "If he hasn't dumped me, I doubt I'd have been acting now. I might as well have been staying at the apartment we used to share, waiting for him quietly at home like a pitiful housewife and slaving myself to pay the rent."

It was silent for a while, and then Kento let out a snarl. "When I meet this brat, I'll certainly guarantee his death."

Kyoko was completely speechless seeing him being overprotective over her. _He's acting just like Father did with Kuon_, she thought, before noticing his once again solemn expression.

"So, back to the thing we were talking about," Kento continued. "The abandonment is clear enough; what about the abuse? Did Saena really…?" He could not continue the question; deep in his heart he could not believe that the woman could do such a thing.

Her brows hooked together into a frown as she relived the memories from her times with her mother. "She… did not exactly abuse me," she began. "I mean, she did not hit me directly or anything, unless slapping my hands away from her can be counted as abuse."

"I wouldn't exactly call that abuse," Kento interjected. "Because she may be intended to make it as soft as possible, but could not control her strength. What else?"

"She simply wanted me to get 100% in all my tests in school, or else she would just scorn me for being stupid, disappointing, or just downright ignored me. She never really showed affection towards me. But whenever she saw my face over the years, she often snapped at me for reasons I didn't understand."

Kento frowned. "Seeing your face made her snap?" he repeated, not believing Kyoko's words. "Wow, she sounds more like a nutcase for me now."

"Does she?" Kyoko sighed. "Perhaps she is, now. I haven't seen her for years after she left me at Fuwa Inn when I was 8."

He was silent for a while, his eyes drooping in guilt. "I'm sorry. If I hadn't been such a coward back then–"

"You know," the girl interrupted casually, "when I spent some time thinking about it and put myself in your shoes, I think I now know why you left."

"Really?" his jaw dropped in surprise.

"Uh-huh. Mom was really scary with her glares and insults. If I were you, I would run with my tail tucked in, too."

Seconds later, the room was filled with laughter. When it died down, Kyoko smiled at him. "I'm so glad we have a chance to meet, Papa."

Kento was caught off guard, and when he realized what the girl had said, he already had her in his arms.

* * *

"You don't look good, Mogami-san. Are you sure you're okay?" Kitami Shinji asked the woman sitting in front of him with skeptical worry.

He could see that his newest client was as pale as a corpse and sweating bullets. This sight was a bit unnerving for him. As a lawyer, he had seen many of his previous clients showing signs of panic, but even he would say that this woman was too much.

It uncomforted him even more when Saena did not answer.

Nervously, he gingerly reached his hand towards her, making sure not to startle her. "Mogami-san?"

"I'm fine!" Saena snapped, scaring the poor man. "Just get to the business already!"

"Alright," he gulped audibly before skimming through the papers he had prepared after he had received her phone call two days ago. "You want to press charges due to violent conduct on you, correct?"

"That's what I said."

"Can you tell me the name of the accused?"

Saena's glare intensified. "Didn't you hear me the other day? It's Akatoki Marina."

"Right, Akatoki Marina," Kitami mumbled, scribbling the name onto the paper. "Can you tell me the details as precise as possible?"

She groaned; her frustration as lucid as daylight. "I just demanded that outrageous president of LME to let me meet my daughter, and suddenly–"

"Wait a second," the lawyer butted in. "Your daughter?"

"Mogami Kyoko."

"Mogami Kyoko… As in KYOKO?" he asked excitedly. "Are you saying the Mio from 'Dark Moon' is your daughter?"

Saena frowned deeply. "You know her?"

"Of course I know her!" he nodded proudly. "In fact, I'm a big fan of hers! Ever since I saw her performance in 'Dark Moon', I've been hooked! Ah, great timing!" He noticed the television screen that was facing him, his eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. "There she is!"

The woman turned her head around to see what Kitami was pointing at, and her brown eyes widened. In the television, there stood Kyoko as the ever evilly charismatic Kitagawa Natsu, her pair of golden eyes glimmering with sickening glee as she watched her newest target cried in anguish.

Much to Kitami's surprise, Saena stood up abruptly and left the room, leaving him confused.

* * *

"So? Where did you meet Tsuruga-san?" Kento asked curiously.

Kyoko pouted playfully. "Right after I acknowledge you as my parent, you just went straight to interrogate me about my boyfriend. Great."

"I'm not interrogating," he explained with patience. "I just want to know more. He perked my curiosity."

She gasped. "Papa, don't tell me, you're gay?" she asked. "And you're attracted to Ren-san? That's unforgivable! Certainly unbefitting!"

Kento grimaced uncomfortably. "Even I won't forgive myself if that happens," he mumbled. "You know what? You're the second person who assumed I'm gay. Do I really look like I'm not straight?"

"It's not that… Hang on. Who's the first?" she inquired curiously. "Mom?"

"If she had thought I was gay, you wouldn't have been here, young lady," Kento grumbled, pointing out the obvious fact. "No, it was this young man with long silver hair and lavender eyes. His clothes were beyond weird; I won't even call those clothes. Marina told me his name was Reino."

Kyoko could feel a vein popped on her temple. "Why do you suddenly bring up the Beagle?"

"What? Beagle?" the artist repeated, completely baffled. "I'm not talking about dogs. I'm talking about this man named Reino from Vie Ghoul…" His voice trailed with realization. "Oh."

"Yes," she nodded. "That creepy stalker hound from hell. Where did you meet him?"

"In the hotel I was staying at in Osaka before I flew to Tokyo, two days ago," he answered. "I was sitting at the lounge when he just greeted me with a pick-up line–"

His daughter scowled. "Yuck! That's gross. Now I know he's definitely not from this world."

"Anyway, he mentioned things about harassing you, so I socked him on the face and threatened him to not come close to you or else, all forces in this world wouldn't let him see daylight again."

"Cool!" Kyoko exclaimed with innocent glee, her demons rejoicing in her head – Demon B even squealed happily, "I like Grandpa already!"

Kento could only laugh at her remark about the unworldly singer. "So? What about Tsuruga?"

The chestnut-haired girl bit her lower lip lightly, mulling over all the details she had about her boyfriend. Ren still had not decided to reveal his true identity as Hizuri Kuon to the public, and she understood that it was not her place to say anything that could hint the truth to somebody else without his concern.

However, much to her shock, her father was the one who made the revelation. "He's not Japanese."

Her head snapped up to meet his smug and confident expression. She gaped, "Why do you say so?"

"I've been an artist for my whole existence," he said. "And believe me, my dear, my eyes and observation for details never deceive me. His roots were the most beautiful blonde I've ever seen. Where did you meet such a man?"

She gulped. _Damn, he's sharp_, she thought. "I first met him when I was 6, in the forest behind Fuwa Inn in Kyoto. I met him again 2 years ago, when I was applying for audition at LME. That time I'd never thought that that rude man was the fairy prince I befriended when I was little."

It was quiet as Kento did not utter any comment. Kyoko finally broke the silence with a simple question: "Can you really see fairies?"

* * *

"So she is pressing charges against me for doing violence on her face?" Marina scoffed on her phone.

She could almost imagine Kisaki Eri, her lawyer scowling. "Marina-chan, this is no laughing matter! And yes, she is, so you better tell me all about the circumstances behind the fight, or else this can turn into worse shit."

"I am aware of that. I will be at your office tomorrow morning, please rest assure."

"And also," the lawyer continued, "It seems that she might also sue you for not letting her meet with her daughter, if what I heard from her lawyer is correct."

Marina frowned. _Wow, after long years and she suddenly decided to act as a supposedly loving parent who only wants to meet her child_, she mumbled inwardly. Her train of thoughts were cut off when she heard Kisaki rambling. Feeling sorry for letting her ranting out to not being heard, she spoke sheepishly, "I apologize. What were you saying?"

"You were definitely wandering off, Marina-chan, just like always," Kisaki sighed. "What? The pressing charges thing suddenly sparks your interest in writing a detective story?"

"I am sorry to disappoint you, but no, I am not yet interested, although actually I am quite mystified with the life of that husband of yours," she replied. "So what were you saying again?"

She could hear a huff of breath being let out by Kisaki, before she repeated, "I said, I sympathize with the guy, Kitami. He told me something was weird with Mogami. The moment she set eyes upon the girl on TV, she bolted out of the room like having a demon hot on her trails."

"I have to admit that it is unusual," Marina agreed. _It sounds like she did not fancy seeing Kyoko-san. But why did she want to meet her by herself? I do not like this bad feeling._ "In that case, Eri-chan, you still have that letter I presented you in your possession, correct?"

"Do you mean the revised copy of the one from Kento-kun? Don't worry; it's safe and secured."

"When the notice of charges for illegally forbidding Saena to see Kyoko-san comes, please do not hesitate to present the letter to the court. We have nothing to lose, anyway."

"Alright. What about the violence case?"

Marina grinned sheepishly, although Kisaki could not see it. "Well, it is partially my fault for letting the rage get the better of me. But we can always counter that, because the injuries are mutual on both, no, three sides."

"Three sides?" the lawyer chocked. "Who else did you beat up, Marina-san? I swear, this time you're shortening my already short life."

"You still have long in your life," she dismissed him. "I already taken pictures of my injuries, and I will give them to you when I pay you a visit tomorrow. By the way, is there any charges pressed onto Kento?"

"So far, he's clean."

Marina sighed in relief. "Good. At least he's not going to add something into the already piling problems. Oh, and can you prepare something for the stupid cousin of mine so that he can appeal for custody over Kyoko-san?"

"I'm already on it. Although I have a hunch that that Mogami woman will be super pissed off when she hears about this."

"And can you ask her lawyer to give me her residential address?"

There was a pause, before Kisaki asked, "What for? Don't tell me, you want to beat her some more?"

"Eri-chan, trust me, I really do not want anything more to do with Saena," Marina deadpanned. "I am requesting this for Kento; that is all."

"He wants to talk to her?" Kisaki ventured a guess in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, yes."

Kisaki was silent in thought for a while before consenting to her a bit weird childhood best friend.

* * *

She could not tolerate it anymore.

Wherever she went to, Kyoko's face was showed extravagantly on big screens, zooming in at the moment when she had declared her rejection over the Fuwa brat's rather stupid confession. The girl was featured in the covers of almost all magazines. One DVD rental shop even displayed a large poster of 'Dark Moon', with the actress, in all of Mio's glory, looking at whoever was in front of her with unmeasured hatred.

Wherever she was, she always had that pair of golden eyes she hated staring at her, and that was sickening her, reminding her of the man who had betrayed her.

No, Saena had had enough. She would take whatever it was to ensure that those golden eyes disappear forever from her life.

* * *

**Additional Disclaimer:  
Sadly, the one who owns Kisaki Eri is Aoyama Gosho, not me. For all Detective Conan's fans, I'm really sorry if she seems OOC.**

**To be honest, I am not really satisfied with this chapter. Personally, I think that Kyoko warms up to Kento too easily. What do you guys think?**

**Since school is starting real soon, I'm afraid I won't be able to update as often as before. Please bear with me.**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	11. New Episode -Revelations-

**As usual, thank you for readers who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters. You all are my saviour.**

**These days I spent my time playing Skip-Beat!'s PS2 game while waiting for Chapter 198 to be published. Now I don't even know what colour Ren's contact lenses are. And I have to slap myself numerous times for thinking that Sho is kinda cute (okay, he's cute, if he's not a big jerk). No offence to those who love Sho, okay? I'm just so into Ren.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 11: New Episode ~Revelations~

"Big Sister!" a little girl with long, curly light brown hair squaled jovially, launching herself into Kyoko's arms. "I missed you!"

Kyoko grinned cheerily at Takarada Maria, the girl. "Long time no see, Maria-chan! How are you?"

Some time had passed after the press conference, and she had not seen Maria for even longer than that. Lory had mentioned to her that his granddaughter had missed her, but with her somehow hectic schedule – with Yoshimoto managing to help her getting more gigs – and the fact that Maria could not spend all of her time in LME building, they had not had the chance to spend time together.

Maria lifted her face up to have a better look at her 'big sister'. "You know, Big Sister, I'm so happy right now!"

"Really? How so?"

"Papa told me that he would get home early for the Grateful Party this year!" the little gingerette chirped. "And then, he said he would certainly record my piano performance!"

"Isn't that great?" Kyoko replied, giving the girl a gentle smile. "This time, make sure to spend a good time with your Papa, okay?"

"Un!" Maria nodded her head. "So Big Sister, will you help me again this year?"

The answer came as quick as lightning. "Sure! So who are you going to invite this year?" the actress asked.

The youngest Takarada started counting with her fingers. "Let's see… Of course we have Papa, and Grandfather, and Uncle Tora, and Ren-sama, and I also want to invite my classmates and my teachers from school, and my tutors. And then, my friends from the black magic community, and from the potion brewer association, and–"

"In other words," Kyoko added in, "we might need a bigger venue this time."

"Good idea, Big Sister!" Maria exclaimed in excitement. "I'll ask Grandfather if he can lend his place again this year! By the way, Big Sister, who are you going to invite this year?"

"Nice question," Kyoko mumbled, tapping her chin in thought. "Moko-san and Amamiya-san… You've invited Ren-san, so I'll make an invitation to Yashiro-san… Taishou and Okami-san… Yoshimoto-san… People from 'Dark Moon' and 'Box-R'… Maybe I'll invite the crew from Queen Records and Hiou-kun… the Ishibashis… people from LME PR department… And then, Marina-san, Seijuro-san, and Papa, I guess."

_I'll ask President later if it's safe to invite Director Konoe_, she made a note inwardly. _I'll secretly add Father and Mother into the list later when Maria isn't watching. And if I invite Asami-san and Shoko-san, I'll have to invite that jerk as well…_

* * *

"No," Marina and Seijuro said flatly at the same time, leaving Kyoko and Ren perplexed.

Facing the four of them, Kento glared at them with a very serious face. "And why can't I come to the hearing? It'll be the fastest way for me to meet Saena face to face."

"But can you imagine what she'll do once she sees you?" Seijuro argued back. "She might just run away; which is likely in every case possible."

Kento gave them a little pout. He then gestured at Kyoko. "What about Kyoko, then?"

"Are you out of your mind?" Marina hissed in irritation. "She sued me for punching her right on her face and for not letting her meet the girl. The last thing I want to do is to give in and bring Kyoko-san to that sorry excuse of a woman." She punched her fist into her palm.

_Where is the usually super kind and dramatic Marina-san? _Kyoko asked silently, eyeing her suddenly violent aunt._  
_

As if reading her thoughts, Kento turned to her and mumbled, "Let me introduce you to Akatoki Marina, whose motto is 'there is nothing wrong with violence as a part of life'."

_Damn_, Ren cringed in his thoughts. _Now I know who else not to be pissed. Why does almost everyone in this family tend to act at the extreme levels?_

"Anyway, it's not best for the both of you to come to the hearing, Kento," Seijuro spoke again in a rather calm manner. "That is, unless Eri-chan suddenly asked Kyoko-chan to stand as witness for testimonies."

"I don't think that's really a wise choice, Seijuro-san," Ren suddenly blurted, his hand tightening his grip on Kyoko's hand. "The rumor from last month still hasn't died down, and the media are still questioning about Kyoko's parents and the abandonment. Having Kyoko standing up there for testimonies will just feed oil to the flame."

Kento frowned. "I've been itching to ask, but how come you're here in a family dinner, Tsuruga-kun?"

"I invited him," Marina answered quickly. "He's your daughter's boyfriend, after all. Isn't it only normal?"

"I didn't remember giving him the green light to date Kyoko," he replied stubbornly, crossing his arms.

Kyoko glared back at him, feeling a vein pop somewhere on her head. "Papa, I thought we've talked about this."

"About what?" Kento asked back with an innocent smile.

"Just cut it off, Kento," Seijuro sighed. "The girl's free to date anyone she wants."

"You don't know what you're saying, Nii-san," the artist came back with fervor. "The first guy who came to me and expressed his interest on my daughter actually began the conversation with a cheap pick-up line as if I was a gay."

This time, it was Marina's turn who huffed in exasperation, while her big brother burst in a rumbling series of laughter. "I cannot believe you are still not over that, Kento. Are you not able to just forget about it? You have given the boy a lesson, haven't you?"

"Marina, easy for you to say that, because you're not the one experiencing it firsthand," Kento grumbled.

"Anyway, Papa," Kyoko butted in, "you have no say in me and Ren-san's relationship, and that's final."

Ren sighed inwardly. _Now I'm feeling like I'm involved in some kind of family skit._

"Kyoko, I don't care who it is you date, as long as he's a good guy," Kento said. "And from what I've observed, I even don't know who this lad over here is. I told you before, right, Kyoko? He's not even Japanese, and I doubt 'Tsuruga Ren' is his real name."

Pregnant silence filled the room awkwardly as Kyoko's and Ren's eyes widened. _He knows_, the actor panicked inside his head. _I'm screwed. Did Kyoko tell him?_

"Well?" Kento asked him, raising one eyebrow. "Now, do you mind enlightening us with who exactly my daughter is dating is, 'Tsuruga'-kun?"

* * *

"I don't know if I should say 'welcome', or 'welcome back'," Lory – who was dressed in Viking attire – said, offering his hand for a handshake. "Your pick, Kuu, Julie."

The tall blonde smiled. "I think I'll choose 'welcome back' this time, Boss. How're my sons doing?"

"Just the same as when you left," the flamboyant president answered, walking towards the couch. "But, if you're asking for specific update on Kyoko, then I'll inform you this: the rumors haven't died down even a bit, and your son – your real son – hasn't caused another scandal."

Kuu raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Isn't the latter a good thing? Why the hell are you pouting?"

"Your son's career is BORING, that's why!" Lory whined. "He's been in the showbiz for almost five years, and still no scandals! He's too clean!"

"I need to remind you that he wasn't this clean in the early years of his life as Tsuruga Ren," Kuu replied, not too happy with what he was saying.

Their argument was broken by Julie, who cleared her throat for attention. "What am I, a wall?"

"Sorry, Honey," Kuu replied sheepishly.

Julie ignored him, nevertheless. "Anyway, I got it that she's still not allowed to meet her mother, am I right, Mr. Kidnapper?"

"It's the way around, and when are you going to stop calling me that, Julie?" the Viking-wannabe asked with a sweat-drop adorning the top of his head.

The Hizuri matriarch shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't know, beats me."

Lory let out a huge sigh of depression. "By the way, I think you'll be wanted in the hearing two weeks from now."

"What hearing?" Julie asked quickly, a little bit wary of the answer.

"Oh, you know, about the ridiculous cat fight you joined about a month ago? The mad woman, apparently, pressed charges against Marina-chan, and somehow managed to pin you as an accomplice in the conduct of violence."

"Which I'm more than happy to do again in a heartbeat," the woman continued with a grin, frustrating her husband and his boss.

Kuu sighed in desperation, "Honey, I know you love Kyoko like your own daughter, but can you please repress your tendency to finish every problem with threats and violent behavior? This is not America. Hell, you can't do it even back home."

"I don't care," she said stubbornly. "That insane woman hurt my baby; she's crossing my line. They want me for a hearing? I'll come and let them listen to a piece of my mind!"

_Oh please someone, HELP! _The two men screamed in their mind exasperatedly.

* * *

"So, repeating all the things you've told us so far," Kento said, crossing his arms and legs in front of Ren. "Your real name is Hizuri Kuon."

The younger man only feebly answered, "Yes."

"The son of Hizuri Kuu and Juliella."

"Yes."

"You're American by birth."

"Yes."

"The fairy boy who met Kyoko in Kyoto years ago."

"Yes… But 'fairy boy' is a bit–"

"I just need a 'yes' or 'no' from you, Tsuruga-kun – or Hizuri-kun, or whoever your name is," the golden-eyed man cut him off. "Now, you came to Japan simply to become an actor worthy enough to rival your father."

"Yes."

"And you haven't deviled my daughter."

Sitting beside Ren on the couch, Kyoko blushed brightly. _Does he really have to say that? He's my father! _She scowled silently.

"Well? Your answer?" Kento asked again, raising an eyebrow.

Ren talked with a blank expression on his face. "Please define 'deviling your daughter' to me, because I think we have different understanding on the matter."

"Let me rephrase it, then. Have you slept with my sweet daughter?"

"Papa!" Kyoko shrieked in embarrassment, her face as red as tomato. "Do you really have to ask him that?"

"It's about your well-being, Kyoko," Kento defended himself.

Ren sighed. "If you're specifically asking about whether I've had sex with Kyoko, then the answer is 'no'."

The chestnut-haired girl turned to her boyfriend in horror, while her father nodded his head in understanding, before Ren continued, "However, it is my fullest intention to marry your daughter in the future, near or far."

"As if I'll let you," the artist retorted.

"Don't be stupid, Kento," Seijuro interjected for the first time after the 'interrogation'. "You know damn well the boy loves her. And so far, he's the best choice we have for her boyfriend."

Kento's frown deepened. "And why do you say so?"

"Because," the older Akatoki answered with a grin and mischief twinkling in his eyes, "you haven't met our Fuwa Sho."

"Fuwa Sho?" Kento asked. "That singer Kyoko rejected in the press conference?"

"That's right. And from what I can derive from my observation of him, he's still not over our big girl here. And! Let me tell you that this boy can act like a complete jerk sometimes."

"But we hire him under our wings nonetheless," Marina deadpanned. "To be perfectly serious, Brother, sometimes I am not able to perceive your way of thinking. Why hire him if you know from the start if he is a troublemaker?"

The Uehara clucked his tongue. "Isn't it obvious, Marina? Seijuro-niisan will never hire anyone who can't bring him money."

"Is that the way you're looking at me? A gold-digging man?" Seijuro faked hurt at the phrase.

"More like a gold-digging _old geezer_, you mean?" Kento replied. "To be honest, Nii-san, you sometimes look and act like a mob boss obsessed with money."

"I don't!"

Marina sighed. "Will you two stop this petty quarrel which won't lead us anywhere? You might then notice that the younger ones have left this apartment already."

Kento's head snapped around at that, realizing that Marina spoke the truth. "Damn it! And just when I want to give him a piece of my mind!"

* * *

"That, was the most unnerving I've experienced so far," Kuon heaved a sigh once he and Kyoko were at his apartment. "I can't imagine what'll happen when I formally propose."

His girlfriend only giggled. "Blame your luck, Fairy Boy. Oh, and here." She handed him a baby blue envelope adorned with white lace and fake crystals. "For you from Maria-chan."

"Nice maneuver, Kyoko. Don't think I'll let you go after calling me 'Fairy Boy' next time," he scowled at her, before looking at the envelope. "You're doing the party again this year?"

"It was a big success last year, so why not?" Kyoko replied. "Even Maria-chan's father's anticipating it. You're coming, right?"

The brown-haired man opened the envelope and looked at the content – an elaborate card with cursive border made from velvet. "I should be free on the 24th. Tell me when the hearing is again?"

The actress' expression turned grim. "It should be on the 26th. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he mumbled, pulling her into his embrace. "It's just that I have a bad feeling about this."

Kyoko let out a sigh against his chest, snuggling more into him. "I do too, Kuon. I won't know what to do if I'm called to the hearing as witness."

"Which is likely, I know," Kuon murmured against the crown of her head.

It was silent in the apartment for a while, before Kuon asked, "Do you want to stay here for the night?"

Her eyes widened. _Did he just say what I think he was saying? He can't be serious, can he? Right?_ "Kuon, are you drunk? You did drink some _shochu_ Seijuro-san brought to dinner."

"Nope. For your information, I didn't drink that much and I'm completely sober. What do you say about the sleepover? We might as well sleep on the same bed, just like old times when we were Heel siblings."

"For your information, Corn, you promised my father to keep my chastity intact until he agreed to let you marry me," Kyoko reminded him sternly.

"Damn," he swore under his breath. "And I thought I could snuggle with you tonight when I sleep."

Kyoko stared at him and cursed inwardly. Here he went and launched Cain's puppy eyes with full force at her. She groaned, realizing that there was no way for her to win against those eyes. "Promise no perverted things?"

He raised one hand and put the other hand on his chest, right above his heart. "I solemnly swear that I won't do any perverted things other than hugging or kissing to Mogami Kyoko." He playfully glared at Kyoko. "Happy?"

She exhaled in defeat. "Let me call Marina-san."

* * *

Kuon came out of the bathroom to the sight of Kyoko sitting on his bed, wearing one of his old T-shirts. He smirked at her. "You look damn good in my shirt."

Kyoko pouted at him, a blush peppering her cheeks. "Pervert," she mumbled under her breath.

He grinned at the comment and padded towards her. "But you like me this way," he whispered in her ear, chuckling when the blush intensified. "Let's sleep. Don't you have a big day tomorrow?"

"Well, I do have a photo shoot for Atelier Utahime at 10," the girl said thoughtfully. "But that should be my only job tomorrow."

"But don't you have to help Maria-chan with the preparation for the party?"

"That's for the evening, I guess. Maria-chan has school, after all." Kyoko shrugged and lied down onto the soft mattress, her head on the fluffy pillow. Kuon soon joined her and tucked the large thick covers over them to keep them warm. "But if I remember correctly, Sawara-san wanted to talk to me as well in the afternoon after the photo shoot. What about you?"

Kuon stared at the ceiling of the wide room for a while, recalling his schedule. "I have an interview in the morning, so I can come to your shoot and pick you up to LME. How does that sound?"

They soon snuggled into each other. She felt safe and warm in his embrace. Deep in her heart, she was proud that Kuon had had the courage to face Kento heads on with the truth, although she realized he deliberately had left out the incident with Rick.

"Kuon?" she murmured, slowly lulled to sleep by his hand stroking her chestnut tresses.

"Hm?"

"I'm proud of you."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Thanks."

None of them said anything for some time, before Kyoko mumbled again. "Kuon."

"Hm?"

"I have something that I have to tell you."

Kuon got up on his arm and looked at her incredulously. "What is it?" _She's not going to break up with me, right?_

Kyoko gulped. In all honesty, she was not ready to do what she was about to do. But seeing her beloved bracing himself and revealing his deepest secrets – well, not all secret – to her father just for her made her realize that he at least deserved to know this one truth.

"You don't know something about me," she said.

Kuon raised one eyebrow, somehow feeling relieved. "Really? Other than the facts that you're obsessed with fairy tales and often go to some imagination land I've never seen myself?"

She nodded meekly. "Promise you won't get angry."

_Now I'm really curious_, he thought impatiently. "Alright."

The chestnut-haired girl gulped once again before mumbling, "I'm Bo, the chicken mascot from 'Yappa Kimagure Rock'."

* * *

"Eri-chan, can't you do something about that?" Marina said on the phone with a worried tone while half listening to Kento reprimanding Seijuro about making him lose focus on lecturing Hizuri Kuon.

The lawyer huffed out a breath. "Trust me, Marina-chan, I won't if I can find another convincing source that can bring Mogami Saena down. But I found nothing, and your girl's statement is the only thing that can put her in disadvantage."

The ghostwriter did not say anything, so Kisaki quickly added, "But I don't think she would be called on the 26th, because the first case being heard will be about the violence charges–"

"That is not the point, Eri-chan," Marina mumbled. "I just do not think that Kyoko-san is ready to meet Saena. Not yet."

"Then when will she be ready?" Kisaki asked harshly. "Marina-chan, I'm definitely sure that you saying that she's not ready is based only on your judgement – which most probably is clouded by your hatred towards the woman – but have you ever asked her if she wants to meet – no, see – her mother after all those years?"

"But–"

"Marina-chan," Kisaki continued in a gentler tone, her unoccupied hand petting her pet Russian Blue cat. "I'm not annoyed at you, okay? But Mogami did have a valid point; she has the right to at least _see_ her daughter in person."

The younger Akatoki slumped her shoulder forward and leaned her back against a wall. She murmured, "I know. But seeing Saena's expression that time, I just can't believe that she wants to meet Kyoko to make amends, it scared me."

"Still, you can't forbid a mother from meeting her child, even if she doesn't deserve to be a mother," the lawyer argued. "Of course, I won't say anything if the girl herself is the one who doesn't want to meet her. I advise you strongly to ask her opinion. Okay?"

Marina inhaled and exhaled slowly, calming her raging thoughts down. "Okay."

* * *

**Additional Disclaimer:  
-As mentioned in the previous chapter, I do not own Kisaki Eri. Aoyama Gosho does.  
-I also do not own Atelier Utahime. Hidaka Banri does.**

**This is my final update before school starts. Wish me the biggest luck, guys! I need it.**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	12. Present Hunting -Depicting Sayaka-

**What else can I say other than that you guys who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapter rock?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 12: Present Hunting ~Depicting Sayaka~

"You're that chicken?" Kuon asked, gaping in disbelief.

_He's angry! I knew it!_ Kyoko screamed inwardly, her inner self cowering in fright. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for keeping this a secret from you!"

It was completely silent in the room, and it scared the hell out of Kyoko. She hid her face in her folded legs, forming a shivering ball.

Kuon sighed while trying to get the facts straight. _Alright, so she's that chicken, which means that the one I consulted about '_tentekomai_' that time was her. _The sudden revelation brought the feeling of shame to him as he reckoned the time when Bo had roared a loud laughter when he had misunderstood the phrase, making his face flush in embarassment – which of course went unnoticed by the girl beside him.

_Wait a minute_, another thought hit him. _I also told her about me falling in love with her, right? So I practically confessed to her! Why was it that she didn't catch the meaning at all that time? Was it because she was so dense beyond reason? _He stared at Kyoko. _Or did she know already, but chose to avoid me all the same? Wow, if that's the case, I'm feeling like such a lucky guy now._

He slowly reached for her, and Kyoko flinched when she felt the tips of his fingers grazing her shoulder.

_Great, Kuon_, he groaned inwardly at himself. _Now she thinks you're mad at her._ "Kyoko," he called gingerly with a small voice. "Kyoko, look at me."

The sweet chestnut-haired girl only lifted her head a little and gave him a little peek. Her eyes immediately widened when she saw him smiling heavenly at her. Inside her head, the little grudges shrieked in terror upon seeing the expression and fled to save themselves.

"Kuon," she whispered slowly, "you're not angry?"

"Why should I be angry?" he asked innocently.

Kyoko quickly straightened up and exclaimed, "I lied to you, you know!"

"But rather than lying, it's more to not saying anything, right?"

Seeing her speechless, Kuon continued, "Seriously, I'm not mad at you. In fact, I really want to laugh. Remember the high school girl I told you about when you talked to me as the chicken?"

She nodded.

"I was talking about you at that time, to you in person! How f***ed up was that?" the man chuckled. "And then at one time you told me to marry the girl, who was you!" He reached for Kyoko and drew her into a hug. "And now that I remembered the first time I met the chicken, now I'm really glad it's you who knew the most embarrassing moment in my life."

"About the '_tentekomai_'?" she asked, giggling when she remembered the detailed memories of the incident.

Kuon groaned. "Please don't mention it ever again."

"You're the one bringing it up in the first place!" she retorted, before snuggling further into his chest, relieved that her boyfriend's reaction was far from her extreme anticipation; she had expected herself to be gutted into fillets like fish by the Demon Lord.

The Hizuri nuzzled on her crown. "Why are you suddenly telling me that?" he questioned curiously.

"You deserve it," she mumbled into his pajama shirt. "You told me everything about your past, and braved yourself to tell Papa about it – although you didn't mention Rick, which I can understand – so I think it's not fair of me to keep secrets from you."

The fairy prince smiled and kissed her forehead. He looked at her with sincere happiness. "Thank you."

* * *

Sayaka was the epitome of a mysterious, noble young lady.

She had been raised in a European-styled, castle-like mansion all her life. Being the only child of her parents, and one so indescribably beautiful at that – with long, soft brown hair, cerulean eyes, and smooth fair skin, her parents always dolled her up with pretty, lacey, ruffled dresses and accessories. They bought her so many that never wearing the same dress for more than one day became a must for her, else she would not know what to do with her overflowing wardrobe.

Brought up with glamour surroundings and education fitting for royalty, Sayaka saw the world around her with the perspective of a queen. Her conduct was flawlessly mannered, and even often awed other properly-raised rich girls.

On the other hand, she was also mischievous, daring, and tended to be secretive. No one around her knew exactly what was on her mind as she was usually aloof. People, however, noticed that her elegant smiles were always accompanied by the gleam of sick, arrogant excitement in her eyes…

… just like this exact moment when she was dressed in blood red puffy short dress adorned with white lace, sitting on the chessboard-like floor littered with red rose petals like a propped-up French doll, eyes looking at the camera as if silently challenging everyone looking at her if they could be more beautiful than her.

* * *

"That's the expression, Kyoko-chan!" Sugimoto Karen yelled in delight. "Now try walking around! You don't have to look at the camera, but please do sometimes, okay?"

Near the already aged blonde female photographer, Fujisawa Eiko, the designer and owner of Atelier Utahime, smiled in satisfaction. When she had first saw Kyoko's act as Natsu in 'Box-R', she had been completely convinced that the young actress would be the only perfect person to model her new gothic designs. The sultry look and smile Kyoko put on her face when she glanced at the camera from her shoulder as she walked around smoothly like a breeze amazed her to no end.

At this rate Eiko might set up a contract to hire Kyoko as an exclusive model for her label, before her brother got to the golden-eyed girl first and ask her to model his Q's more casual designs.

Not far from the thrilled photographer and designer, Kento sat on a chair next to Ren, his face was a mixed expression of pride and astonishment towards his daughter, and annoyance towards the taller young man beside him. Yoshimoto and Yashiro stood beside the actor, silently eyeing the two men.

"Aren't you supposed to be unbelievably busy, _Tsuruga_-kun?" he asked in a clippy tone, but a small voice so that he did not disrupt the photo shoot. "You're Japan's number one actor, after all. But why are you here in all places, sitting here and having nothing to do?"

Ren grinned at him. "Coincidentally, we're both going to the office after this, so I'm picking her up. What about you, Sir?"

The older man only eyed him suspiciously, as if not believing his words. "Fujisawa-san asked me if I could make a painted background for her label's new advert poster. She told me to look at the photo shoot to grasp some idea that might actually work," he explained, his hands already working with a sketch pad and a graphite stick.

Meanwhile, Yashiro whispered to Yoshimoto, "What's with this heavy atmosphere?"

"Beats me," the silver-eyed manager shrugged. "I guess it's the tension between an overly-protective father and an influential boyfriend fighting for the rights over the girl?"

Ren nodded in understanding at Kento's answer – completely oblivious to the conversation the managers had – before shifting his eyes towards Kyoko, who was acting 'Sayaka', the character she created for this gig. When she had told him about it, he had been mildly astounded that the fairy tale junkie did not name the character 'Belle', 'Cinderella', 'Briar Rose', or other names similar to those.

He looked at his girlfriend's father to find the artist's eyes focusing on the girl. He let out a small smile. "Her talent's breathtaking, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Kento said breathlessly, his gaze still stuck at Kyoko. "It makes me wonder how she got the talent running in her. Neither me or Saena had it in us to act at her caliber."

They did not say anything for a while. Suddenly, the golden-eyed man asked, "What do you think will be a good present for her?"

A bit taken aback by the abruptness of the question, Ren asked back, "Are you talking about her upcoming birthday, Sir?"

"Uh, yeah," Kento stuttered. "I mean, I might be her father, but I just don't know her enough to know her preferences. And to be unexpectedly invited to what looks like a _huge_ party…"

The actor snickered inwardly. _'Huge' won't be enough to describe it if Boss manages to have a say in it like last year._ His thoughts flew to his prepared present, pre-ordered just days after he had told Kyoko all about his past months back.

He looked at the older man, who was staring at him in desperation, his face flustered. Kento did not really want to admit it, but he had to accept the fact that this young man was the only one who can help him.

"She's always one who's fascinated with cosmetics," Ren began. "Or to be more precise, she'll over-appreciate anything beautiful, more so if it's anything princess-like or lady-like. And she's always one for fairytales."

"What did she get last year?" Kento asked again, taking notes in his sharp mind.

"Let's see…" Ren racked his memories about the Grateful Party last year. "I gave her a stem of Queen Rosa rose and a piece of rose-quartz she named Princess Rosa. And Kotonami-san – ah, she's her best friend," he quickly explained to Kento when he saw him puzzled, "she gave her a set of princess-themed make-up set. She also got a pair of high heels from her landlords in her previous place. I'm not sure about what Maria-chan – the President's granddaughter – gave her. Kyoko never told me, but I'm sure that Maria-chan at least gave her something."

Kento hummed in a low voice. "All of them describe royal femininity, huh… And did you say she likes something princess-themed?" When Ren nodded, his eyes then flickered in artistic stimulation and he quickly turned over to a new page on his sketch pad and started sketching with newfound fervor.

* * *

Sawara Takenori, the head of LME's Talent Department could not hide his amazement of Kyoko.

He clearly remembered the time when the girl once haunted him and his family days and nights, demanding him to let her get into showbiz. Sometimes, he still shuddered in fright because of it. And of course, her rocky start – with her unworldly antics, especially when Fuwa Sho was mentioned – always gave him severe headaches.

But here she was, standing before him as politely and humble as ever, slowly and steadily spreading her wings as a professional and very capable actress at the same level as Tsuruga Ren, Japan's number one actor.

"You're doing really great, Mogami-kun!" he said, smiling widely. "Fujisawa-san from Atelier Utahime called just now, lavishing praise upon your work this morning."

Kyoko blushed at the compliment.

"She even asked to establish a contract with you as Atelier Utahime's exclusive image!" Sawara continued. "This will definitely expand your horizon as a talent in showbiz. You can't miss this! Right, Yoshimoto-kun?" he asked the silver-eyed man standing next to the girl.

"That's irrefutably true," Yoshimoto nodded while pulling out his notebook of Kyoko's schedule. "Have Fujisawa-san sent the contract over?"

Sawara reached for his drawer and produced a bundle of documents. "Here you go," he said, giving the documents to Yoshimoto who immediately flipped them over.

The manager hummed in excitement. "This sure looks like a great job," he informed Kyoko. "It'll certainly give you broader experience in working as a model. What do you think, Kyoko-san?"

The very first LoveMe member was stunned. She remembered the time when Kuu explicitly told her to just stick with acting. _But Kuon also does modeling_, she thought. _Maybe I should discuss this with Kuon and Father…_ She replied the department head and Yoshimoto slowly, "Please let me think about it."

* * *

"Why not?" Kuu asked, casually shrugging his shoulders.

Kyoko's jaws dropped. "Father, weren't you the one who told me to stick to acting?"

"Yeah, I did. So?" Seeing that his foster daughter was run out of words, the veteran actor sighed. "Kyoko, I did say that, but I didn't tell you to be only an actress, did I? Tell me about your photo shoot today!"

Julie's head popped up from the kitchen. "Did I just hear Kyoko doing a photo shoot? Why did no one tell me before?"

"Honey, what are you doing in the kitchen?" Kuu asked warily.

"Cooking dinner, of course," the blonde woman answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "I heard you inviting Kuon and Kyoko to dinner, so I thought I might as well make my signature dish."

Kuu's face immediately paled. He stood up from his comfortable seat on the couch and strode over to his wife, saying sweetly, "Why don't you let me do dinner and talk with Kyoko about her photo shoot?"

"Good point!" Julie quickly warmed up to the idea. Only seconds later, she was already seated next to Kyoko, eager for some girl's talk. "So, Kyoko," she began. "What label did you model for?"

Flabbergasted by Julie's excitement, the young girl stuttered, "A-Atelier Utahime."

"Atelier Utahime," the American hummed. "Never heard of it. Is it a local label?"

"I think so," Kyoko replied slowly. "It's owned by Fujisawa Eiko-san, and specializes in gothic clothes."

Julie's eyes sparkled in enthusiasm in response. "Gothic apparels!" she squealed. "I love gothic apparels!"

"But you never get to wear one, right, Julie?" Kuu's voice was heard from the kitchen. "You're too old for Japanese gothic clothes."

She stuck her tongue out at his direction before turning back to Kyoko. "Don't mind him," she rolled her eyes. "He just said that because he didn't get to wear anything good enough for his style."

"Excuse me!" he yelled. "I have abundant amount of clothes to last me a lifetime, and I enjoy them all the same, thank you!"

The females giggled. "Anyway, don't mind him. I still love gothic apparels," Julie said again. "Do you think you can get me some of the photos? I'd love to see you in gothic! Who's your photographer?"

"Sugimoto Karen-san," Kyoko mumbled. "And about the photos, I'm not sure. Let me ask Fujisawa-san."

The door was knocked and opened to reveal Kuon. "Hey guys," he greeted casually, walking over to the couch and kissed his mother on the cheek before sitting down beside his girlfriend. "Where's Dad?"

"Fixing dinner," Julie shrugged. "Even though _I _am the one who want to cook something–"

"Mom," Kuon quickly interrupted her with his Tsuruga Ren's gentleman smile. "Why don't you continue your talk with Kyoko before I came in? You looked so into the topic."

The blonde woman's eyes widened. "Your right," she breathed.

"And I believe that before the talk shifted strictly to gothic clothes, I actually wanted Kyoko to tell us about 'Sayaka'," Kuu's voice was heard again among the sizzling sound of the frying pan. "Hey there, son. Our girl over there told me the most hilarious thing I've ever heard."

Kuon raised one eyebrow at Kyoko. "What did you tell him?"

"I just asked him for advice," the chestnut-haired girl replied. "It's about taking the exclusive contract with Atelier Utahime."

"And Kyoko _hesitates_," Kuu added.

"What's wrong?" the youngest Hizuri asked. "Isn't it a good opportunity to secure a job that promising?"

The man formerly called Hozu Shuhei walked over from the kitchen to sat next to Julie. "I told her once to stick to acting. Apparently, this girl takes what I said _literally_."

Realization hit Kuon. "She thought you wanted her to only work as an actress," he guessed.

"Bulls-eye," his father confirmed. "Tell her, son. It seems that the only thing that is able to go through her thick skull is your opinions."

"It's not like that!" Kyoko suddenly shrieked and lower herself to the floor, trying to do a _dogeza_. "I didn't mean to spite you, Father!"

Kuu sighed. "I know, Kyoko," he murmured. "Now stand up. Dinner's ready."

* * *

Akatoki Marina was in a big dilemma.

She did tell her lawyer and childhood friend, Kisaki Eri that she would ask Kyoko's opinion on the matter regarding Saena, and against her conscience she had steeled herself to do so.

She had thought she had steeled herself to do so.

Now all the dread was coming back to her in full force. _What if Kyoko-san says that she actually wants to meet Saena? What if our efforts all this time was against her will? _A lot of 'what-if's quickly flooded her mind, and she finally broke down when a 'What if Kyoko-san doesn't want to see me again after she reconciles with Saena?' flashed in her head.

Marina groaned in frustration in her office at Akatoki Agency, a place she seldom used. Why she was sitting on her chair in the office was beyond her comprehension. She was supposed to sitting in her homy library at home, finishing her latest manuscript on a story about a female poet who fell in love with the archbishop's bastard son.

And here she was, at Akatoki Agency, mulling over her lost courage to ask Kyoko about Saena like a pathetic person.

Her ears perked at the sound of her door being knocked, and a moment later Seijuro came into the room. Marina scowled.

"I've knocked, alright?" the CEO said, noticing her expression.

"Yeah, but I have not let you in, have I?" she groaned, pulling her arm to cover her eyes.

"What's with you?" Seijuro asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Are you having migraine?"

Marina snorted. "How I hope it is just a simple migraine. Eri-chan asked me to convince Kyoko-san to agree to be a witness in the hearing."

"Hasn't she agreed on that? What's the problem now?"

The vice-president silently stared at the ceiling. "Do you think we are doing the correct thing?"

"What are you talking about?"

"About us not letting Saena meeting Kyoko-san."

Seijuro sighed. "She's not safe for the girl, Marina. So far I think we're doing it correctly."

"But what if Kyoko-san actually wants to meet her?" his sister asked skeptically.

"Then I'll say that she has something wrong with her head."

She once again snorted. "What a convenient way to force your opinion on people."

He stared at the ghostwriter for a while. "Have you talked to Kento about this?"

"I have not met him again after dinner yesterday."

"Then, what you'll do, Marina, is this," he spoke in an undeniably serious tone. "You're scared to tell her; then let me do it. I'll do it before her party."

* * *

"So, anything in your mind for your birthday present, Kyoko dear?" Julie asked in the middle of dinner.

Kyoko's eyes widened in surprise. "No way," she gasped. "I'm not that worthy for you to consider giving me present!"

"Bullshit," the American woman retorted. "You're worthy enough. And if you don't want to look at it that way, let's try it this way. It's more for the sake of my conscience rather than your appreciation, how's that?"

Kuon could not help but scoff. "Mom," he said. "Isn't that too direct?"

"Nothing's too direct for her, Kuon," Kuu mumbled. "But she's right in one thing: you're worthy enough as our daughter to receive a present from us. We'll choose for you, okay, Kyoko? But you can't complaint on whatever we decide on giving you."

The girl was on the verge of happy tears.

* * *

**Additional Disclaimer:  
-I do not own Kisaki Eri, Aoyama Gosho does.  
-I do not own Atelier Utahime, Q, Fujisawa Eiko, and Sugimoto Karen. Hidaka Banri does.  
-The story Marina was writing is taken from "The Lover's Path" written by Filamena Ziani with a few adjustments. It's a very romantic book; if you like love stories like "Romeo and Juliet", then this one is a must read.**

**And I presented you another filler chapter. I wonder when the story will reach its climax -"**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	13. Days Before Party -Being Tailed-

**My utmost appreciation for you guys who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters. And the followers of 'True Reflection' are still growing in number!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

**A/N: Rewritten due to some grammatical error and details addition.**

* * *

Chapter 13: Days Before Party ~Being Tailed~

"I'm so glad that you have come, Big Sister!" Maria exclaimed happily from across the very wide hall of one of Lory's numerous vacation house just near the outskirts of Tokyo. "Come here! The candy glass panes for the Beast's castle have just been delivered!"

Kyoko quickly shrugged her thick coat off with the help of Sebastian, who at the moment acted as their assistant. She strode in excitement towards the little girl, almost bouncing in her way. "You mean it? Let me see!"

Soon enough, the two were engaged deeply in their almost magical conversation, that it was only Sebastian who noticed Ren walking into the room. "Tsuruga-sama," he bowed deeply as was his custom.

The tall man greeted him back with a nod. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"The Master instructed me to be here to give Maria-sama and Mogami-sama whatever help they may need, in the guise of monitoring them to make sure they do not do anything that can ruin the house."

Ren chuckled. "I take it that the President acts as the Daddy Long Legs again this year; am I correct?"

"The assumption is correct, Tsuruga-sama."

"Is the President here?"

To the actor's surprise, the stoic man before him frowned. "Currently, he is in a meeting with Kisaki Eri-sama regarding the court hearing on the 26th. The Master has been summoned as witness."

"Is that so…" Ren trailed off gloomily, his eyes focusing on Kyoko who was chattering away with Maria. "Give my regards to the President."

"Understood, Sir."

The brown-dyed haired-man walked over to his girlfriend and tapped her on the shoulder, gaining her and her little companion's attention. Maria quickly squealed and tackled him onto the already artificial-grass-covered floor. "Ren-sama!"

"How are you, Maria-chan?" he replied with a wide smile, trying to sit up. "You look very excited about the party this year."

"Of course I am!" she huffed proudly. "This party will definitely be better than the last! But I won't give you the details, Ren-sama! You'll just have to wait and see."

He chuckled and shifted his gaze to Kyoko, who was smiling at him. "You won't tell me either?"

"Unfortunately, no," the actress shook her head. "Otherwise, it won't be a pleasant surprise for the guests. And need I remind you that you're one of the guests."

"I see," he said easily before throwing her Cain's puppy eyes.

Kyoko was quickly gob smacked. _Damn him and Cain-niisan's puppy eyes! No, I can feel Setsu coming! Noooo! Setsu, don't give in! Hang in there!_ "Ren-san, can you please stop that?"

"Stop what?" he asked innocently, leveling up his puppy eyes.

"Whatever you're doing right now," she mumbled weakly, still trying to rein Setsu's brother-complex in.

Ren sighed and faked a pout. "Alright then," he said, lifting Maria up so that he could stand up. He dusted his pants and continued, "I'll pick you up at 11, okay?"

"Sure," Kyoko hummed.

Maria looked at Kyoko first then at Ren. "Are you two in a relationship?" she asked abruptly.

Kyoko froze. _Oh no! Maria-chan adores Ren-san! She's going to hate me for sure! _She started to open her mouth to utter an explanation, but before she could say anything, Ren beat her to it. "Yes, Maria-chan. We're in a relationship."

"So does that mean Big Sister is your girlfriend, Ren-sama?"

"Uh-huh."

_I'm screwed! _Kyoko screamed inwardly.

* * *

Much to the contrary of her extreme mind, Kyoko found out that Maria was actually okay with the entire idea of her and Ren dating. She even congratulated the two and asked when they would be married.

"I knew it from the start that Ren-sama felt something towards Big Sister," she explained idly, her hands and eyes were focused on painting the Styrofoam-made castle walls with glittery gray paint. "And I once heard Grandfather in his office, muttering to himself, scheming on how to get you two together. Knowing Grandfather, I was surprised that Big Sister and Ren-sama took this long to get into a steady romantic relationship."

"You're not angry?" Kyoko asked timidly.

Maria chewed her bottom lip in deep thoughts, and then shrugged her shoulders lightly. "Well, if I say I'm not annoyed, then it'll be a big fat lie," the gingerette said. "But I love you both and I can't find myself doing all the pranks I've done to Ren-sama's other fans to you. And actually you two do look good together when I picture it in my mind."

The actress sighed in relief, "Thank you, Maria-chan."

"No problem," the younger girl answered cheerily. "But as compensation, for my present you have to make me a life-sized Ren-sama's doll with Ren-sama's voice saying my favorite phrases recorded and embedded in it!"

Kyoko could only laugh. "Trust me; that can be easily arranged."

* * *

"But this is rather a strange job for me, Mogami-san," Mori Kogoro scratched the back of his head with an uneasy grin and his other hand gripping his phone's receiver close to his ear. "No one ever asked me to keep a close eye on a celebrity, one as well-known as KYOKO even."

"Do you think it's an impossible job for you, Mori-san?" his caller asked in a rather dangerous tone.

The comb-mustached man stuttered, completely taken aback. "Ah, no, it's just, with how well-guarded a talent agency as big as LME is, it will be tough to find out her schedule for the week and give you the result by tomorrow–"

"Mori-san," the woman cut him off. "I'll give you three days, which I believe is more than necessary. The payment has been stored in your mailbox at your home, hasn't it?"

"Uh, yeah…" Mori trailed off, his eyes warily looked at his ceiling, knowing that on his dining table laid an elaborate _hakozushi_ waiting to be devoured by him and the other occupants of his little home. And that had cost him a third of the payment he had found in the mailbox, sent by the woman on the other line of the phone.

She chuckled darkly. "Then, I'm waiting for the best result I can get, Mori-san. Have a good evening." And with that the call was abruptly ended.

Mori threw his head down, resting his forehead onto the cupping palms of his hands. He groaned in frustration. When his newest client had called and introduced himself as Mogami Saena, he did not suspect anything. But right at the moment she had explained that she wanted to know KYOKO's schedule for the week, something had screamed at him inside his head to just decline the woman or he would face a very wrathful Kisaki Eri.

He had realized he had been completely doomed when Saena had mentioned the already-used payment.

_Shit! Damn me and my money-spending habit!_ He groaned once again, hitting his forehead onto his desk. _Eri's so going to kill me now._

* * *

Kyoko was flabbergasted to see the familiar figure of Akatoki Seijuro standing at her school gates. He was slumping against the wall of the gates, his hands crossed, and his eyes moving back and forth restlessly.

It was clear enough to the world that the man was not comfortable in his position, or rather, his predicament. The flush on his face deepened when other students started snickering at him and whispered to one another with their eyes staring at him with smirks. He even could hear a girl murmur to her friend, "Who's he stalking? He totally gives me a bad vibe."

"Seijuro-san!" Kyoko called him, noticing how relieved he became when he set his eyes on her approaching figure. "Why are you here?"

He sighed happily. "Kyoko-chan! I'm glad you're here already!" he said. "I don't think I can wait any longer than this. Do you have anything after this?"

"Err… I don't think I do… Yoshimoto-san hasn't informed me of any sudden job yet, so I'm free for the day," she answered with a slight suspicion in her voice. _Well, I suppose he's here because he has an important reason. And Maria-chan's supposed to be having tutors at her home now and she has the key to the vacation house, so I can't work on the decorations…_

"Great!" Seijuro cheered. Smiling at his gob smacked niece, he asked, "Would you mind having lunch with this lonely old man?"

_Did he just use a pick-up line on me? _"Uh… Sure?"

"Then let's go!" the president of Akatoki Agency quickly grabbed her wrist and sprinted to his car, tagging her along.

* * *

The chestnut-haired girl was still unable to register everything that had been happening in the past half hour. When she came to it, a hotplate of her favorite, Japanese hamburger steak with a sunny side up on the top was on the table in front of her. She glanced cagily at Seijuro who was already stuffing his mouth with little chunks of cut-up slab of sirloin.

"Err… Seijuro-san?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah?"

"There must be a reason why… you invited me to lunch, right?"

Her uncle's hands froze. He heaved a sigh before putting down his cutleries and leaning onto his comfortable seat. "I expected no less from Kento's kid," he mumbled. "You're sharp. Or is it from your mother, I wonder?"

Kyoko stiffened a little at the mention of Saena. Seeing that, Seijuro huffed inwardly. "I'm here because Marina's been acting like a coward."

"Marina-san?" she asked, entirely puzzled.

"Yup," he nodded. "You know that the hearing is in a couple of weeks."

"Yes. I've been summoned as a witness."

The older Akatoki nodded again. "And two days ago, Eri-chan – our lawyer, I mean – brought up the speculation that _you_ might have wanted to meet Saena before the trial."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"And Marina's been stressing over that, fearing that we've been doing the wrong thing," Seijuro continued. "Honestly, I know where she's coming from; Saena's your birth mother, and until some point she's the one that raised you up. Some people might want to say, '_Oh, I miss her, I want to meet her_' when they're put in your shoes, but how about you?"

Kyoko chewed her inner cheeks. "And what will happen if I say yes?"

"The restriction Marina's has placed and informed your manager will be removed, and Saena's free to see you, although we'll still tell Yoshimoto to keep a good eye on your safety with her around. We don't want to risk anything, you see."

They were silent for a while. It was Kyoko who broke the silence. "What's your opinion, Seijuro-san?"

"Me?" he pointed at himself. "Well, if I were you, I wouldn't; she's an insane nut-case, please excuse my language. But maybe – just may be — she really regrets her attitudes towards you in the past and wants to make amends. No one can tell what's on her head.

It's not that I'm trying to scare you when I said she was insane!" he quickly added when he saw Kyoko begin to pale. "It's just my view of her. Kento seems to still believe in her, though."

"He loves her," she mumbled, "that's why."

"But this's about _you_," Seijuro immediately added. "Put all what other people told you aside; what do you personally feel?"

Kyoko chewed her bottom lip. The images of her mother snubbing her and leaving her in the Fuwa Inn flashed in her mind. "It's too painful to see her now."

"_Now_," her uncle repeated. "Then that means you might want to see her someday in the future?"

Her brows furrowed. "Perhaps."

Seijuro smiled widely and picked his cutleries back up. "Let us know when the time comes then, Kyoko-chan. Okay? We won't bite. Oh, and don't forget to tell Marina what you told me just now. She can use some stress-relief on herself."

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this…" Mori grumbled to himself, peeking secretly at the infamous chestnut-haired newbie from behind the electric pole. "At this rate, people will just call this famous great 'Sleeping Kogoro' a celeb stalker."

His trip to LME earlier had been unsuccessful, as he had not been able to get through the reception desk. He even had almost gotten thrown out by the burly security. So he decided to follow KYOKO and wait for her to talk about her schedule.

Mori was surprised to see her walking out of a gourmet restaurant with a much older man. _Is she dating an older man? Then this can be a gossip – wait, what the heck am I thinking?_

"What's your schedule like today?" he heard the older man asking the girl.

"Let's see…" KYOKO trailed off in thought. "I'm working on the party's decoration again with Maria-chan tonight, so I'm free for the rest of the day until the evening. Ren-san will drive me to the venue."

The man laughed. "From what I see, he really loves to be your chauffeur, doesn't he?"

"Seijuro-san!" she scolded him. "Ren-san is not like that! He cares about me, that's all!"

"Alright, alright, I get it. What about the rest of the week? Doing the party stuff?"

"Yes. I still have to finalize the list of desserts–"

"Desserts!" the man called Seijuro exclaimed happily. "I like desserts! Make sure you make the best of the best, okay? Now I can't wait for the party."

KYOKO laughed. "Please leave it to me!"

_So she's having a party_, Mori repeated to himself. _This might worth a check._

* * *

Getting an invitation, though, was harder than he expected.

He had gathered all the possible guests invited to the so-called 'Grateful Party' and so far there was no possibility for him to get a spare invitation.

Instead, he was awed by the list of guests he had managed to get. Never in his mind had he imagined that a very famous veteran actor such as Hizuri Kuu and his wife would attend such event organized by a newbie. _Unless there's something going on between them_, he speculated.

But from his investigation, he had found out that the purpose of the party was to thank everyone that the hostesses – KYOKO and a little girl called Takarada Maria – felt gratitude for.

So, Mori concluded, the only way to get an invitation was to do something to help them and make them feel grateful to him somehow.

His train of thought was cut off when he heard Ran, his daughter, squealing over the phone in her room. "The invitation is so cute, Mom!" she said. "So, what date is it? I can't see it clearly. The 24th? Isn't that Christmas Eve? … Sure, sure, I can come and accompany you! It sounds like a very good party! I wonder why Sonoko has never mentioned it to me. Can I bring Dad and Conan-kun too? … Why not? Dad will surely behave, I promise you."

_Damn you, Eri_, Mori grumbled.

Ran got out of her room, still holding her cell phone close to her ear. "Okay, I'll see you soon. Bye, Mom! Love you!"

"Is that Eri?" Mori asked uncaringly.

"Yup!" the long-haired girl answered cheerily. "She wants us to accompany her to this party on the 24th! And guess who the hostess is!"

He sighed heavily. "Beats me. Must be one of her very rich clients."

"It's KYOKO!" she squealed. "KYOKO from 'Dark Moon' and 'Box-R'! I'm a big fan of hers!"

"Yeah, yeah, good for you," Mori mumbled. A second later, his eyes widened and he instantly snapped. "Did you just say KYOKO? KYOKO the actress?"

Ran nodded.

_I got my answer! _He grinned.

* * *

"Thank you for your purchase, Tsuruga-sama! Please do come back again next time!"

Ren nodded to the shop attendant who was giving him a polite bow, and left the shop with a box he handled with utmost care. He walked towards his car and got into the driver's seat. "Sorry for making you wait, Yashiro-san."

"That's alright," the bespectacled manager replied, shutting his notebook closed before pocketing it in his coat. He gave his charge a devious grin. "You don't have to worry about it, especially when it concerns Kyoko-chan."

The actor groaned, "Why does everything about me have to do with Kyoko?"

"Of course because she's the love of your life!" Yashiro answered with fervor. And a split second later, he already leaned himself towards Ren in a position not unlike a gossiping lady. "That box; it's Kyoko-chan's birthday present, right?"

Ren smiled heavenly. "Uh-huh."

The shorter man squealed in ecstasy. "What did you get her this time?"

"If I tell you now, then it won't be fair for Kyoko, will it?" the dark-haired man said. _But I do hope she will like it._

* * *

Saena was silent when Mori informed her that Kyoko was hosting a party on the 24th, and he was going to attend the said party together with his family. The silence unnerved the detective in a really bad way, and he could not help but shivering in fright.

"Err… Mogami-san?" he stuttered, trying to break the silence. "Is everything okay?"

Eerily, she chuckled. "So the hopeless girl still cannot give up her dream of living like an innocent princess, huh?" she mumbled. "How typical of her."

Mori was expectedly baffled. "Huh?"

"Don't mind me, Mori-san," Saena told him. "It was just me talking to myself. So, any other activity scheduled for her this week?"

He skimmed through his notes. "I found that she has just established an exclusive contract with 'Atelier Utahime' as their image, and they will have another photo shoot on the 27th."

"Do you know where the photo shoot will be?"

"An abandoned English mansion in Saitama, but–"

"That's all I want to know, thank–"

"Mogami-san," Mori cut her off. "She's going to stand as witness in the hearing on the 26th for your case against Akatoki Marina-san; why don't you just wait until then to meet her face to face?"

She didn't say anything for a while before she calmly said, "It's none of your business, Mori-san. But thank you for your work. You didn't fail my expectation."

* * *

**Additional Disclaimer:  
-Of course everyone knows that I do not own Mori Kogoro, Ran, Conan (although it's only his name mentioned), and Kisaki Eri. Aoyama Gosho does.  
-And even if I want to, I'll never own 'Atelier Utahime'. Hidaka Banri does.**

**I plan to wrap this story up in 5-6 more chapters, so the climax will be up quite soon. And I absolutely have no idea why this story has turned into a cross-over (although I notice most of my reviewers don't really mind).**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	14. Grateful -Be Our Guest-

**Dear readers, thank you very much for being patient (if you're still reading this story)! I'm really sorry for not updating for quite a long time! And thank you for readers who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters!**

**Happy belated Easter for the ones who celebrated it! Only three days until the next chapter of Skip-Beat!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

**A/N: Is it just me or do FanFiction look different?**

* * *

Chapter 14: Grateful ~Be Our Guest~

Kotonami Kanae dead-panned when she was greeted by a dozen of shifting candelabras at the entrance of the vacation house, while Uesugi Hiou was completely shocked next to her. Her eyes immediately caught sight of one of the hostesses.

Takarada Maria glided towards them, beautifully clad in a simple ball gown adored with roses. Her long ginger curly hair was put into a neat bun with some loose strands and a rose tucked in. "Welcome to our humble party, Kotonami-sama, Uesugi-sama," she gave them an elegant curtsy.

"Let me guess," Kanae mumbled. "The theme this year is 'Beauty and the Beast'? And _those things_ at the entrance were President's idea?"

Maria grinned sheepishly. "No, this time it's my idea, although they are provided by Grandfather quickly after I jokingly mentioned it to him. He deemed it worthy to be done. Now why don't I lead you to one of the tables and fetch you some drinks?"

Following the little girl into the already crowded party, the ravenette easily located Lory's acquaintances, flocking almost together at one side of the great room. The flamboyant president was among them, dressed royally in a medieval king's garb, complete with a puffy crown, fluffy red cloak, and a golden sceptre – although she found the puffy short shorts over the tight pants were absolutely hilarious on the tall mustached man.

On another corner, to her amazement, a marvellously arranged rose garden was set up, with a small water fountain near it. The same as last year, unknown people – and Kanae of course did not want to know them – were standing in a wait around the fountain, plastic chalices in their hands.

"What's with the fountain?" Hiou asked Maria curiously.

"Oh, at 10 minutes interval, it will spew out the elixir of eternal life," the gingerette answered automatically.

The child actor was once again flabbergasted. "Th-the elixir of what?!"

"Don't mind it," Kanae quickly interrupted. "It's a term exclusive to them we don't have to know. And it must be grape juice or something."

Walking further in, the pair could see the stage, which was narrower than what the second LoveMe member could remember. It was set up next to a huge castle with sparkling walls and colored glass panes that formed pictures of royal couples dancing. The stage itself was bordered with corridor railing, and on it stood a polished grand piano.

They finally reached a table for 10 people near the castle, and once Kanae and Hiou were seated, a waiter put two glasses of apple cider in front of them.

"Where's Kyoko?" Kanae asked, turning her head left and right. "Is she in the kitchen?"

"Ah, no, she's done with the first batch of all the courses," Maria told her. "The last time I saw Big Sister, she was talking with a man I don't know."

The actress raised one eyebrow. "A man you don't know?"

"Uh-huh," the gingerette nodded. "Quite tall, black hair and golden eyes."

* * *

"This is a really nice party, Kyoko," Kento hummed. "You've done a great job with this. Where did you get the 'Beauty and the Beast' idea?"

Kyoko grinned sheepishly. "It's Maria-chan's idea. Last year we have 'Cinderella', I think?"

"And the drink is pretty excuisite…" He trailed off when he eyed his wine glass with one eyebrow raised in mild suspicion. The glass itself was filled with sparkling dark green soda. "What do I have in here?"

"Soda water with honey, green apple, lime, and pear," the girl answered casually. "And a bit of kahlua, since you can drink alcohol."

"And the green color?"

Kyoko smirked. "What if I tell you I put one of your green paint into that?"

Her father's eyes narrowed at her and his hands pushed the glass as far away as possible from his sight. The actress laughed seeing his reaction, "It's just melon syrup, trust me!"

"It's not a very good joke, Kyoko," Kento grumbled, taking the glass and took a sip. "And the name for this cocktail is?"

"'Fairy Dance'," Kyoko said, smiling at him.

He hummed in agreement. "What about Marina's and Seijuro-niisan's, then?"

Their head turned to the two siblings who sat beside them. Seijuro was dressed smartly with a black suit, ivory crisp shirt and indigo tie with maroon stripes, while Marina chose to come exquisitely in pale blue silk dress with ruffles along the high neckline and hipline. Seijuro's glass was filled with orange-brown opaque liquid, while Marina's was full of pink, white, and a bit of yellow.

"Let's see…" the girl mumbled. "Seijuro-san's is 'Home of the Sun', and Marina-san's is 'Angel's Touch of Courage'."

Marina smiled approvingly. "An appropriate name, I see. Do pray tell what you have prepared for Tsuruga-san. It must be something special, am I wrong?"

Kyoko blushed. Before she could say anything, she was yanked backwards.

"Kyoko…" a familiar voice growled. "You were the one who invited me to this stupid party, so why is it that you're never the one who greeted me and showed me to my table?"

The chestnut-haired girl's head snapped back as soon as she recognized the voice. "Moko-saaaaan!" she squealed while quickly throwing herself on the ravenette, tackling the taller girl.

"MO! KYOKO! GET OFF ME!" Kanae yelled furiously, trying to push Kyoko off her. "People are looking at you! Aren't you embarrassed?!"

"But, we haven't met since after the 'PV'," the younger girl pouted.

Huffing, Kanae managed to get Kyoko off her and stood up. Her eyes quickly caught sight of Marina, who was smiling widely at her. "It is nice to see you well, Kotonami-san," the ghostwriter greeted her. "It has been some time, hasn't it?"

"Good evening, Akatoki-san," she replied, bowing politely. "I'm more than glad to see you here in this party. I thought I would have no talking companion aside from Hiou-kun tonight."

Marina chuckled. "Then why don't you and Uesugi-kun have a seat with us here?" she offered. "Perhaps it will be more entertaining for you two to converse with these old ones."

"How rude, Marina," Seijuro fake-grumbled. "I'm not that old."

"I second that," Kento nodded in agreement.

The younger Akatoki blatantly ignored them. "So, Kotonami-san?"

"Please pardon my intrusion, then." Kanae gestured for Hiou to come there and got herself a seat next to Marina.

"Now, Nii-san, Kento, let me introduce you to Kotonami Kanae-san," the older woman said. "She is Kyoko-san's best friend and an amazing actress on top of that. She played the older angel in 'True Reflection'. And Nii-san already knows him, but I would also like to introduce Kento to Uesugi Hiou-kun, an actor of Akatoki Agency.

"Kotonami-san, Uesugi-kun, these are my older brother, Akatoki Seijuro, and my cousin, Uehara Kento."

Kanae stared at Kento with wide eyes. "You're Kyoko's father?" she choked in disbelief.

The artist raised an eyebrow awkwardly at the girl. "Err… Yes?" he mumbled. He cringed when he saw her appraising him from head to toe.

_Hmm… Now that I look at him this close, he indeed looks like Kyoko. No, he's the man version of Kyoko, except for the black hair. But then, Kyoko said she used to have black hair before she dyed it with that ridiculous chestnut brown… Although it still looks good on her… _Kanae thought, a bit unwillingly at the last part. _Those pairs of golden eyes are so alike they give me the creeps. Now I know where Kyoko got her oh-so-domestic looks. It's all this man's fault._

"Is there something wrong with me, Kotonami-san?" Kento asked her, his lips curved into a nervous smile. "You're looking at me pretty intently, I dare say." _This girl's scary!_

Kanae blinked in abrupt realization. "Ah, sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to stare at you. It's just that now that I can look at you closely, I realize that you and Kyoko are like twins. That's all."

She sweat-dropped when she saw the man blush. _Seriously? They're even alike in this aspect? I swear this daughter-father pair is creeping me more than ever. This is like I'm sitting between two Kyokos!_

* * *

Meanwhile, Ren and Yashiro were taken aback when they were greeted by the moving candelabras. Beside them, Kuu and Julie, who they met by chance at the gates of Lory's vacation house, looked as if they were seeing extraterrestrial beings.

"The President did it again, didn't he?" Yashiro mumbled monotonously. "I'll bet all of my riches on it."

"That won't be fair, Yashiro-san," Ren protested. "All of us know it's not fair to bet on the obvious answer."

Right when he finished his sentence, Maria was already bowing at them elegantly. She spoke with an elegant tone, "Welcome to the celebration! Thank you for coming, Ren-sama, Yashiro-sama." The little girl then looked up at them with a smile, which immediately turned into a puzzled frown when she saw the blonde couple next to them. "May I inquire your name, please, Sir and Madam?"

"What an adorable child!" Julie squealed before squatting down and scooping Maria into a bear hug. "She looks just like a doll!"

Her husband sighed. "Julie, let her go. You don't want to choke Boss' granddaughter to death, do you? Look at her; she's started to go blue on the face."

"Oh my, I'm sorry," the American muttered sheepishly, abruptly releasing Maria from her hug and leaving the girl a bit disheveled and wide-eyed. "She's Lory's granddaughter? They don't resemble each other!"

"Boss' granddaughter or not, I absolutely don't want you to be arrested for decapitating a little girl in our daughter's party," Kuu muttered. "Speaking of which, where's she?"

Maria cleared her throat to shake herself out of her stupor, and then turned to Ren. "Ren-sama," she began skeptically. "Do you know these guests?"

The dark-haired man only chuckled. "I suppose you're too young to recognize them, but may be you've heard the name Hizuri Kuu?"

"I guess I heard Grandfather mentioned the name several times when he was on Skype, talking to someone when scheming on how to get you and Big Sister together," she answered innocently. "So are you saying that this uncle is the 'Kuu' Grandfather always talked to?"

Ren scowled at the Hollywood actor, who looked back at him with a confused look. _So my own father, who sees my girlfriend as his own daughter, actually helped that love-obsessed old man to get us together, huh? I don't know whether I should be grateful to them or just plain pissed off at him for meddling in._

"Ren-sama?"

Maria's call shook him off his inward grumble. He blinked his eyes several times before shifting his gaze back at the gingerette. "Ah, yeah, I guess President always talks to him. Hizuri Kuu is a good friend of his and used to be a talent of LME, after all."

The girl looked at the tall, blonde couple again. "I'm sorry for being rude," she bowed apologetically – at this moment, Julie squealed again in giddiness. "You must be guests of Big Sister. Welcome! Please let me lead you to your table for the night. The show will begin shortly."

All four of the guests exchanged unknowing glances. "Show?"

* * *

Mori Kogoro was glad that he was able to go to KYOKO's 'Grateful Party'.

Although a bit taken aback with Saena's angry tone when he had asked her about meeting KYOKO during the hearing, he was glad that at least the woman had been pleased to receive the information he had managed to gather. She even had insinuated for him to give her more details of this party.

And there he was, sitting at a table located in the middle of the room next to a wide, velvet-carpeted pathway. Even if he had found the candelabras plain weird; and he had to sit next to Kisaki Eri, his wife, who had spent the entire time criticizing his manners, Mori had so far enjoyed the party, especially the exquisite drinks.

The things he was not patient about, at the moment, were the food to be brought out to the tables and Edogawa Conan, a bespectacled elementary boy living at his home, laughing at him being chewed out by Eri. His hands already itched to hit the boy's head like usual, but he immediately stopped himself when Ran, his only daughter, glared at him.

Meeting Hattori Heiji, the son of the Osaka Police Department's chief – and one of the three most annoying young detectives in his life – had not helped his case. Apparently, Hattori Heizo and Akatoki Seijuro had been schoolmates during their younger days, and KYOKO had sent the Hattori household an invitation in behalf of her uncle.

So far, the actress had not come and given them a welcome. Not that Mori expected her to.

He decided to scan the entire room out of boredom, and was caught in surprise when he spotted the infamous Hizuri Kuu and his blonde wife giving KYOKO, who was dressed in pale green, long mermaid-cut silk gown with touches of thin gold chains, a familial embrace. Beside the three, Tsuruga Ren and a bespectacled man Mori did not recognized were looking at them with smiles.

_Hizuri Kuu is here? _He yelled inwardly. _So this KYOKO is that famous?! I thought she's just a newbie!_

Mori was more surprised when the room suddenly got dark. To his relief, he was not the only one who was startled.

* * *

"What's with the lights off, Kyoko?" Julie asked her pseudo-daughter with curiosity as they sat down around a table near the one occupied by the Akatokis, Kento, Kanae, and Hiou.

Ren raised one of his eyebrows when his girlfriend grinned with mischief apparent in her ochre eyes. "You see," she sang, "I managed to ask some of my friends to put on a show for us, which is about to begin in three… two… one…"

A spotlight suddenly blared on, shining over three men who were standing on the stage with instruments. Ren quickly recognized them as the Ishibashis – Hikaru, Shinichi, and Yuusei – from Kimagure Rock, where Kyoko played the chicken Bo.

The shortest of the men, Hikaru, grabbed the standing microphone and began with a quite solemn voice while trying to imitate a French accent, albeit failing hilariously, making his voice snotty. "_Ma chere Mademoiselle_, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents – your dinner!"

Ren could not help but laugh when he heard a lot of the guests cheering loudly for the upcoming dinner more than Hikaru reciting the famous speech taken from Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' in a rather funny manner. The Ishibashis, however, decided to ignore that.

As Yuusei and Shinichi were ready with their instruments together with the orchestra hired by Kyoko and Maria, Hikaru began again.

"Be our guest! Be our guest!  
Put our service to the test  
Tie your napkin 'round your neck, _Cherie_, and we'll provide the rest  
_Soup du jour, _hot_ hors d'oeuvres_  
Why, we only live to serve  
Try the grey stuff, it's delicious  
Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!

They can sing, they can dance  
After all, Miss, this is France, and a dinner here is never second best  
Go on, unfold your menu  
Take a glance and then you'll be our guest  
_Oui_, our guest  
Be our guest!"

* * *

Mori could not understand why Ran was squealing and cheering giddily over the performance. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing special about it.

The next moment his attention was back to the stage – because Ran was squealing again – a half dozen of female singers dressed in simple dresses were already standing behind Hikaru, singing along him in unison.

"Beef ragout, cheese soufflé  
Pie and pudding '_en flambe'_  
We'll prepare and serve with flair a culinary cabaret!"

The doors leading to the kitchen suddenly burst open and kitchen hands holding dishes of appetizer flooded the hall, each of them walking towards the stage and along the velvet pathway before spreading out towards a table. Meanwhile, the singers were still singing.

"You're alone and you're scared, but the banquet's all prepared  
No one's gloomy or complaining while the flatware's entertaining  
We tell jokes! I do tricks with my fellow candlesticks."

Hikaru was grabbed out of the blue by the candelabras which had left their post at the entrance, and was thrown around, eliciting the laughter of the guests, while Yuusei, Shinichi, and the female singers paid no attention to the poor Ishibashi.

"And it's all in perfect taste that you can bet  
Come on and lift your glass"

All the guests stood up from their seats and raised their glasses for a toast, prompting Mori to do so as well.

"You've won your own free pass to be our guest  
If you're stressed, it's fine dining we suggest  
Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!"

* * *

Hikaru finally managed to get back onto the stage and reclaim his microphone, huffing and puffing. Ren started to wonder what the damned moving candelabras had done to the poor soul, as he looked so disheveled.

"Get your worries off your chest  
Let us say for your entrée we've an array; may we suggest  
Try the bread! Try the soup!  
When the croutons loop _de_ loop  
It's a treat for any dinner  
Don't believe me? Ask the china!

Singing pork! Dancing veal! What an entertaining meal!  
How could anyone be gloomy and depressed?  
We'll make you shout 'encore!' and send us out for more  
So, be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!"

More dancers dressed in colorful cabaret dancers got into the hall on the velvet pathway. Ren nudged Kyoko softly and gained her attention. "Let me guess; President's idea?" he asked.

She only laughed. "You got it."

* * *

Mori almost drooled when one of the cabaret dancers blinked repeatedly in an arousing manner. But he quickly reign himself in control when he sensed Eri, Ran, and Conan staring at him disapprovingly with narrowed eyes.

Bridge Rock, the singers, and the orchestra were still going on.

"Be our guest! Be our guest! Our command is your request  
It's been years since we've had anybody here and we're obsessed  
With your meal, with your ease  
Yes, indeed, we aim to please  
While the candlelight's still glowing  
Let us help you, we'll keep going  
Course by course, one by one  
'Til you shout, 'Enough! I'm done!'  
Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest  
Tonight you'll prop your feet up  
But for now, let's eat up  
Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!  
Please, be our guest!"

And the show was ended with colorful smokes coming from the stage, and when the lights were back on, all the performers were gone. Instead, Takarada Maria was standing alone on the stage.

"Once again, welcome, guests!" she said happily, her eyes scanning the entire hall. "I'm very pleased to have you all here in this year's 'Grateful Party'. I, and also in behalf of my Big Sister, who I see is busy entertaining some of our special guests," she winked at the direction of KYOKO, Mori noticed, "give our best gratitude. Thank you very much for coming!"

The guests cheered. Maria continued, "And we also want to thank Bridge Rock and LME Philharmonic Orchestra for such a fabulous performance to begin our dinner! Although I must say, the candelabras were being naughty, weren't they?" What she said was followed by loud laughter.

"Now, let's say another thank you for the kitchen staffs that have supported Big Sister in preparing the feast," the gingerette said, "and let's dig in!"

* * *

Sometime later, Mori was finally face to face with KYOKO when she walked towards their table with two other women he recognized as Akatoki Marina and Hizuri Kuu's wife.

"I'm so sorry for not greeting you earlier when you first come, Kisaki-san," the girl greeted with a bow. Looking at her closely, Mori now had to admit that the young actress, whom he had at first found plain, was actually a natural beauty, more so with the help of minimalistic, smartly-applied make-up.

Beside him, Eri smiled at the chestnut-haired girl. "That's alright," the lawyer said. "You were occupied, we could understand that. Thank you for inviting me and letting me bring my family. Let me introduce you to my daughter, Ran, my husband, Mori Kogoro, and Conan, who currently lives with them."

"I'm so happy to meet you, KYOKO!" Ran squealed happily. "I'm a fan of yours! Your performance in 'Dark Moon', although really scary, was so endearing!"

_Aren't you afraid of scary things like ghost?_ Mori scowled at his daughter in his mind. _KYOKO's Mio was so scary it was like a ghost! You shook in fright seeing Mio, and you still dare say that you were enraptured by her?_

KYOKO smiled. "I'm happy that you like my act," she replied the ecstatic ravenette. "Not many people like Mio, character wise. But it's still great to know that my Mio at least left an impression on viewers. Now I'm glad."

Next to KYOKO, Marina only stared at Mori with displeasure, making him twitch uncomfortably. "What is it?" he snapped. "Can't you stop staring at me like that?"

"Oh, my apologies," Marina said with a sarcastic tone. "It is just that I did not expect a lowly private investigator to be here, and I certainly do not like the way you eye my niece here. Tell me, Mori-san; is it a hobby of yours to crash parties?"

His fist quickly hit the table in anger. He shouted, attracting attention of other guests, "I'm not crashing! Now you tell me, Akatoki, why is it that every time we meet, you always provoke me?"

"Is it not just your imagination?" the ghostwriter rolled her eyes. "Although, in the deepest part of my heart, it is true that I am willing to give you a punch right on your disgustingly mustached face for making Eri-chan suffer."

"I guess they know each other and their relationship is bad?" Julie whispered to her daughter questioningly.

The girl only shrugged. "I guess?"

When they looked at Marina again, she and Mori were already squabbling.

* * *

Nearing midnight, Lory – still in his kingly attire – got up onto the stage and gained the attention of the guests.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he began with his infamous baritone voice. "As the grandfather of one of our lovely hostesses," he winked at Maria, who was frowning at him, "I'd like to thank you for being here to celebrate something with me for a moment."

The murmur among the guests grew in sound volume.

"But first! Let me bring you to a world…" he trailed down only to whisper dramatically into the microphone in his grasp, "where magic exists."

Ren and Kuu rolled their eyes. "Here we go again…"

Lory snapped his fingers and the stage was once again full of smoke. Ren had to wonder why the smoke detectors had not blared with that much smoke. When the smoke had disappeared, Takarada Kouki and Kento were already on the stage with Lory, standing next to a gigantic two-tiered cake shaped like a castle on the top, and full of roses and butterflies on the bottom. A chocolate block carved intricately into a 'Happy Birthday' was placed between the two layers.

"I'd like to call our two hostesses up here, please," the flamboyant man said, gesturing to Maria and Kyoko, who was back to sitting between Ren and Kuu.

Sheepishly, the two approached the stage. Ren, Marina, Seijuro, Kuu, and Julie were following Kyoko closely with smiles all over their faces. When Kanae realized what was happening, she was already too late as Lory was already speaking again.

"Before today ends, I'd like my dearest granddaughter to make a wish and blow the candle on the bottom layer of the cake."

The guests instinctively sang 'Happy Birthday' as Maria, on the verge of tears, hugged Lory, then Kouki, before blowing her candles, holding hands with her father. Claps were heard loudly afterwards, and among them, the only grandfather clock in the hall chimed majestically, signaling the arrival of the new day.

Ren quickly bent down and pressed his lips softly on Kyoko's, who quickly but shyly reciprocated. When they broke the kiss, he kissed her once more on the forehead before offering her this year's Queen Rosa. "Happy birthday, my love."

* * *

**Part 1 of 'Grateful Party' arc is done! I had so much fun planning and typing this arc that I have to split it into two chapters. Now the number of chapters before the epilogue increases -" I am so not good with planning.**

**phantomofthewind, I hope you're satisfied of my way of bringing Heiji into this story. HE WILL BE THE LAST CHARACTER FROM 'DETECTIVE CONAN' I added in, okay?**

**Additional Disclaimer:  
- I of course do not own Kisaki Eri, Mori Kogoro and Ran, Edogawa Conan, and Hattori Heiji. Aoyama Gosho does.  
- And I absolutely do not own 'Be Our Guest'. It's copyrighted to Alan Menken and Walt Disney Pictures.  
- 'Beauty and the Beast' is already a famous fairytale with many versions I do not know who to give courtesy to for this.**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	15. Grateful -Fairy Princess-

**Thank you very much for you guys who faved, followed, and reviewed. I honestly cannot go on without your support.**

**Disclaimer: I am seriously disappointed at Kyoko in Chapter 199. If I own Skip-Beat!, I'd made her confess to Ren already and give Sho the total defeat he deserves.**

* * *

Chapter 15: Grateful ~Fairy Princess~

_This won't bode really well with Sho, _Aki Shoko groaned inwardly as she saw Tsuruga Ren kissing Kyoko on the lips while they were on the stage. Fortunately for the couple, the kiss was unnoticed by the other guests.

She and Asami Haruki, Sho's music producer, had been invited to the 'Grateful Party', and had not been surprised at all when they had found out the singer was not invited. Shoko had been dreading the moment when he discovered her going to Kyoko's party behind his back, but now she had another thing to not be found out by her charge.

She shifted her focus back to Kyoko who was blushing heavily as she took the Queen Rosa he offered. _Well, I think not saying anything and letting Sho know will be the best_, she sighed silently. _They don't meet that often, anyway. It's safe for the time being._

Sometime later, Lory cleared his throat before gesturing to Kyoko. "Next, for our other stunning hostess, KYOKO! Perhaps her family wants to say something?"

Shifting awkwardly, the golden-eyed man Shoko recognized as Uehara Kento – who finally managed to calm himself down with the help of a smack on the head by Akatoki Marina, one of her bosses – reached for the microphone. He glanced at Seijuro and Marina, who only nodded. The artist sighed. "For the ones who don't know who I am, let me introduce myself as the father of KYOKO, Uehara Kento."

Gasps were heard across the room. He scratched the back of his head and continued. "Although I said I was her father, the first time I met her was only months ago. As a father, I missed a lot on the time when she grew up into such a fine young woman we all know as the actress, the best friend, the daughter for some people here," he eyed Kuu and Julie, and Taisho and Okami who were sitting a bit further from the stage. "And the first of the family she met wasn't me, but my cousins. I'm pathetic, aren't I?"

All people in the room could not help but chuckle. Kento smiled wryly and spoke again, this time looking directly at Kyoko. "But aside from that, although we all needed time, I was really happy when the both of us could come to terms to the fact that we are father and daughter. I still am. I'm honored to be your father, Kyoko."

Tears flowed down Kyoko's cheek as she sobbed with happiness. Ren put his hand on her shoulder in a soothing manner, and smiled gently at her. Marina and Seijuro chuckled at the scene, before signaling for the waiters to bring them three small boxes.

The three of them offered the boxes to Kyoko. "Remember that you'll always be our princess, Kyoko," Kento said before pressing his lips on Kyoko's crown. "We three are just giving you the symbols for that."

Confused, Kyoko eyed the boxes skeptically. Marina giggled and reached for one flat box wrapped with thin colored paper. "You mentioned once that you hoped you can have more accessories to fit Natsu," she said, unwrapping the box and opening it. "So these should be appropriate. I hope these are to your taste."

The teen girl gasped as she saw a pair of small white gold earrings adorned with little pink diamonds and carved roses. "These should match with your 'Princess Rosa', I suppose," Marina added, before she was tackled with a hug from Kyoko.

"Not fair, Marina," Seijuro pouted, opening another box. "You live with her; you know her taste more than us do." Kyoko turned to him only to be presented with a thin golden chain of bracelet.

"You're stealing my spotlight, you know," Kento grumbled as he put an intricately made bead-crown on his daughter's head. He hummed in satisfactory as he looked at her. "Now you're a princess for the day."

Kyoko hugged the three of them, sobbing in happiness. Kento then turned to Ren and said threateningly. "And I still don't approve of you, young man, remember that."

The young actor could only cringe. Kuu, on the other hand, took Kento's antagonism not lightly. "What's wrong with Tsuruga-san?" he growled with hostility – although still taking notes on keeping Ren's identity a secret in front of the public. "Isn't he perfect for Kyoko?"

The artist's eyes narrowed. He hissed back, "The thing is, Hizuri-san, I just can't give my consent to a man who hides his identity without a lot of people knowing. If his skills in deceiving people with his 'Tsuruga Ren' persona are so perfect, who knows that he won't ever deceive my daughter?"

Much to Ren's chagrin, the only reply from his father to Kento was, "You're actually right."

_Dad, you're a damn traitor_, Ren grumbled inwardly. _Couldn't you at least back me up?_

Kuu then continued. "But I do believe that this young man here is the best man for my daughter, so Uehara-san, why don't you just stop being stubborn and approve them dating?"

Kento raised one eyebrow. "Your daughter?" he asked skeptically. "As far as I know, Kyoko is my daughter, not yours."

"She's already like a daughter to my wife and I," replied the Hollywood actor. "Besides, I can assure you that she's going to be our daughter pretty soon."

Ren's eyes widened in panic. _Shit. Dad, you're cutting it pretty close. Thank goodness Uehara-san already knows my real identity._

"In your dreams, Hizuri," Kento growled.

* * *

"That was shocking," Kanae retorted once she met up again with Kyoko after the three families stepped down the stage, this time with Chiori. "Who would have guessed that you actually have _two _super doting fathers instead of one?"

Kyoko's face was beet red. "Please don't mention that," she grumbled. "I've never once thought that those two men could argue over such matter."

The ravenette shrugged nonchalantly. "Mo, that showed that they care great deal about you. And by the way, I didn't forget this year." She shoved a paper bag towards her best friend, who received it with sparkling eyes and a loud squeal.

"Kyoko-senpai, are you forgetting about me?" Chiori teased with a grin, in her hands a paper bag similar to Kanae's. "I'm here too, you know."

"I'm sorry, Amamiya-san," Kyoko apologized, her arms still wrapped around Kanae's slender neck – "MO, KYOKO, FOR LORD'S SAKE, GET OFF ME!" – before loosening and trapped the shorter girl in an embrace. "And thank you very much; I really appreciate it."

Chiori returned the hug easily. "No problem, Kyoko-senpai. I hope you like the present."

The chestnut-haired girl pulled away to cast a questioning look at her colleague, but before she could ask anything, she was called by the Okami and Taisho of Daruma-ya.

Kanae rubbed her neck in an almost irritated manner and nudged Chiori on the ribs. "What did you give her?"

"You see," the other girl explained, "once when we were shooting for Box-R, I caught Kyoko-senpai browsing in a particular section of the shopping centre, so I thought I might as well get her some–"

She was cut off by Kyoko letting out a short scream. They turned around to see the birthday girl turning bright red on the face in severe embarassment, Chiori's paper bag on the floor. It was positioned at such a perfect angle for Kanae to have a look at the content, which was –

"Seriously, Amamiya?" the second LoveMe member asked in disbelief. "You gave her _panties_ for birthday present?!"

"Actually, a set of lingerie," Chiori added innocently, hoping to help her senior get a better picture. "The high quality French-laced super sexy one."

"Why in the world did you give her those?" Kanae exclaimed with furrowed eyebrows.

An offended look crossed Chiori's face. "I can't help it!" she retorted. "When I caught her browsing at the underwear section that time, she was looking at those laced thongs longingly!"

The long-haired girl was completely stunned. She then strode over to where Kyoko was standing, surrounded by the elderly couple from Daruma-ya. The Taisho was looking at the young girl with utter disapproval.

"KYOKO!" Kanae hollered. "Since when do you like these types of… of… THIS! MO!" She gestured wildly to the undergarments in the paper bag on the floor, gasping for dear breath due to her own embarrassment of the issue.

The red on Kyoko's face got ten shades deeper. "MOKO-SAN! DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO RUB IT IN?"

Much to Kyoko's discomfort, the Hizuri family – including Ren – approached them. Julie instantly looked at the discarded paper bag together with its content and hummed in appreciation. "The newest lingerie set from Victoria's Secret," she mumbled while squatting down to have a better look at the apparel. "A really nice piece, with the high-grade silk and all. Where did you get this, Kyoko?"

Kuu was the one getting angry over the matter in the stead of currently speechless Ren. "WHO THE F*** DARED GIVING MY LOVELY INNOCENT DAUGHTER INDECENT UNDERWEARS?"

Finally, Kyoko exploded. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

"They are really loud, are they not?" Marina chuckled happily. Beside her, Shoko and Asami were sweat-dropping. "I have never seen Kyoko-san in such a high spirit like tonight."

_I do think that she's fired up in a not-so-good situation_, Shoko mumbled silently. _Now I really see how good it is that Sho's not here._

Her train of thoughts was cut off when Marina spoke again. "So, Asami-san, is it ready?"

Smiling, Asami reached for her purse and took out a master CD from it. "Ready whenever you're ready to show it, Marina-san. This will also be aired in 'MUSIC STATION' this morning."

"That is good," the vice-president replied. "This can be a very good opportunity to promote the single and at the same time show the guests how Kyoko-san has progressed in her career as an actress. I will tell the staff to have it played after the dance."

* * *

"So Amamiya-san caught you when you were acting as Setsu, huh?" Ren repeated after Kyoko explained about the embarrassing moment with the unexpected pieces of clothing. At the moment, the dangerous gift was in Julie's possession, and Kuu had not stopped glaring at guilty-looking Chiori.

Kyoko only meekly nodded. "I was so caught up in her character that I didn't realize that I had ventured into _that _section. When I came into it after Amamiya-san called me, there was already a pair in my hands and–"

"I understand, Kyoko," he cut her off when he saw her stuttering with a bright red face. "It's not your fault, okay? She meant well, and no one got harmed anyway." _Although I won't say the same for my self-control. That lingerie was so hot – what the hell am I thinking?!_

The music changed into the infamous 'Beauty and the Beast', and the room's light got dimmed. A female singer – one of the singers who had sung along with Bridge Rock – got onto the stage and reached for the microphone. Ren took this as a cue. He bowed before Kyoko and offered one of his hands. "Can I have this dance?"

Thinking that she might be dreaming, she took the offered hand and gave a little curtsy herself. "I'd love to." She was then whisked onto the dancing floor and immediately fell into a graceful waltz with Ren.

"Tale as old as time  
True as it can be  
Barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly"

"Don't you think the lyrics match our relationship?" Ren whispered into her ears while they were dancing around the dancing floor together with some other guests.

Kyoko looked up at him. "Well, it's true that I used to see you as a despicable person."

"I have to admit that I used to be such a jerk," he chuckled. "But I'm no longer someone you hate, right?"

"Do you actually wish for me to hate you?" she asked, smirking at him.

His face paled slightly. "Please don't."

"Just a little change  
Small, to say the least  
Both a little scared  
Neither one prepared  
Beauty and the Beast

"Ever just the same  
Ever a surprise  
Ever as before  
Ever just as sure  
As the sun will rise

'Tale as old as time  
Tune as old as song  
Bittersweet and strange  
Finding you can change  
Learning you were wrong"

"This one I can also relate," Kyoko murmured into Ren's chest. "By loving you I can feel myself change from the foolish girl I was into such a person filled with happiness."

"Do you?" he smiled onto her crown. "I'm glad." He then spun her around at her one foot, her gown fluttering like an opened blossom.

"Certain as the sun rising in the east  
Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the Beast

"Tale as old as time  
Song as old as rhyme  
Beauty and the Beast"

The music slowed down into the ending, and the lovebirds found their faces very close to each other. While they kept swaying left and right on their feet, Ren whispered on her mouth. "I have something to give you after the party. Your birthday present."

"So I'm not only getting Queen Rosa this year?" she rose an eyebrow at him. "Why not now?"

"I want this to be a moment just for us."

She gave him a gentle loving smile. "Okay."

* * *

After the music died down, to everyone's curiosity, a screen was craned down above the stage. A spotlight blared on to revealed Asami standing near the rose-covered balcony railing.

The busty woman – who was dressed in a shimmering black chiffon dress – cleared her throat before speaking into the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's the greatest honor ever given to me to be invited to this party. I am really grateful, and I'm sure every one of us thinks the same. Let's give a huge applause for our kind and astonishing hostesses!"

The claps roared in the hall, and after it died down, Asami continued. "Although I've only worked with KYOKO-chan twice, I feel really honored to see her growing from such a novice into a flourishing, highly-talented actress that nobody can replace. And I think it's only fitting to share how she has grown into the KYOKO-chan we all love. Rather than telling you stories about it, what other best way to show it rather than just let you see it for yourself?

"Therefore, I now present to you, KYOKO-chan's most recent project with me this year, and the first project done together by LME and Akatoki Agency. Ladies and gentlemen, Fuwa Sho's 'True Reflection'."

The wide room was once again filled with applause as the spotlight dimmed down and the guests were enticed by the heartbreaking love story between the fallen angel and the halfling.

* * *

It was 3 am when Kyoko and Kuon entered his apartment with heaps of birthday presents. Of course, Chiori's gift was included in the pile.

"Do you think this reach a hundred in amount?" he grunted as he put the presents on the floor near the couch.

"It should be less than that," Kyoko replied, toeing off her high heels. "Not all people I invited got me presents."

Kuon went into the kitchen and fetched them two glasses of water. He walked back to the living room and offered one to his girlfriend, who gratefully reached for it. He then sat down next to her on the comfortable sofa. "Do you want to open them up now?"

"At least I have to know what Moko-san, Okami-san, and Taisho gave me." She stood down and took two particular bags from the huge pile. She first opened the bag she received from Kanae and immediately squealed in excitement. The girl quickly turned around to give Kuon a look.

In the box was a complete makeup set shaped like Faberge eggs lined with gold-like lacquer, with a hand mirror, cheek brush, body soap, and makeup pouch. On each of them, a small plate with a queen embossed was placed on the center. Kuon whistled in awe. "Another makeup set, huh?"

"Les Merveilleuses de Laduree!" she squealed giddily. "Moko-san, you're the best!"

_Hoo, so up to this far Kotonami-san is the winner, huh?_ He mused inwardly while trying to contain his uncomfortable smirk. _Let's see who the final winner will be after I show her those._ "What about the one from Taisho and Okami?"

Kyoko gently put the makeup set down and reached for the other bag only to take out a big pouch. They looked at each other questioningly before she opened the bag. Various cooking knives came into few. She gasped in surprise.

"These are," she stuttered, "these are the complete equipment for _katsura-muki_!"

Kuon noticed a card fluttering down from the opened pouch filled with knives, so he bent down and picked it up. "Dear Kyoko-chan," he read. "Thank you very much for inviting us to the party again this year. We know this is not much, but we hope this can help encourage you to keep your passion in cooking alive. We always hold you dear in our heart. Happy 18th birthday! From Nakamura Mitsuo and Airi."

He glanced at Kyoko and smiled sadly when he saw her already sobbing in happiness. He quickly drew her into his soothing embrace. "They really love you," he murmured, pressing his lips against her crown.

Kyoko kept crying for a while, and after she calmed down, he tugged her up and led her to the guest room. "My parents left their present for you here," he said. Once they reached the room, he switched the lights on and opened the wardrobe.

The golden-eyed girl gasped in surprise for the umpteenth time when she saw the closet already filled with fairytale-themed outfits. She gingerly fingered the satins and chiffons of the princess gowns and maiden dresses. "Well, I did tell Mom she made too much," Kuon told her while rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You mean, Mother made all this?" she asked in awe, her mouth wide-opened.

"Of course all of them were tailored, but the designs are all Mom's."

"I'm giving them a call first thing in the morning," she stated, once again fingering the soft materials of the outfits. Julie even filled half of the closet with everyday clothes, and Kyoko did not know whether the American woman only had the intention of giving her a birthday present or actually insinuating for Kyoko to move in with Kuon. She turned back to her lover. "And? Where's yours?"

Kuon grinned while he pulled out his arms from behind and Kyoko's eyes widened. It was a bottle of perfume, with its cap shaped like a short-haired fairy with butterfly-like wings, the figure entirely made of glass. When she had a very close look at it, she realized something.

"It's me," she said under her breath.

"Uh-huh," he hummed. "At least, that's how you looked like in my eyes." He fingered the little fragile cupping hands of the fairy. "And I think you'll like the little addition I specifically asked the artisan to include."

She narrowed her eyes to focus her sight, and she was able to see a piece of stone colored differently from the transparent glass figurine. "It's Corn!" she breathed.

He smiled and cupped her cheek before kissing her passionately. When he pulled away, he asked huskily, "So who's the winner this year?"

Kyoko smiled widely. "It's you."

"Damn right I am," he muttered before pulling her for another kiss.

* * *

**Additional Disclaimer:  
- 'Beauty and the Beast' is copyrighted to Alan Menken.  
- I do not own MUSIC STATION, Victoria's Secret, and Les Merveilleuses de Laduree. They exist in reality.**

**So! Ren and Kyoko dancing to 'Beauty and the Beast', checked (I hope this makes your day, kaitlynchosenisme). People giving Kyoko fairytale-themed presents (most of them), checked. 'True Reflection' being launched, checked. More RenxKyoko fluffs, checked. Some embarrassing moments, checked. What else did I miss except giving Sho and Mori Kogoro another appearance?**

**And this concludes 'Grateful Party' arc! Unfortunately, things have become unbelievably hectic, so I might not update for a while :(.**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	16. Announcement -Havoc Wrecked by Angels-

**I can finally update! Thank you so much for you guys who faved, followed, reviewed, and patiently waited for the new chapter of 'The Next Episode'!**

**Please read the important Author's Note at the end of this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 16: Announcement ~Havoc Wrecked by Angels~

"Merry Christmas and happy birthday, Kyoko-san," Yoshimoto greeted over the phone. "I hope you had a lovely party. I start regretting not going."

Kyoko just laughed it off. "You had a wife and newborn child to spend time with; going to my party was nothing compared to that. How's the baby?"

"She's healthy as a bull; thank you for asking," he answered. His silver eyes were focused on a baby girl sleeping soundly in the incubator on the other side of the glass pane window. "She was born prematurely, so we had been worried, but the doctor said she's great."

"That's good to hear," Kyoko said sincerely. "Congratulations, Yoshimoto-san! Have you decided on a name?"

Yoshimoto was about to answer when he was suddenly tackled from behind. After collecting himself back with surprised gasps, he turned around to see his 2-year-old son, Natsuno, grinning a toothy grin at him, his equally silver orbs shining with gleeful excitement.

"Natsu-kun," the manager sighed, squatting down to be at the almost same eye level as the toddler. "What did I say about tackling people?"

The little boy stared at him for a while, clearly thinking of the answer, before saying sheepishly, "Daddy don't like?"

"Yes," Yoshimoto replied. "And Daddy's on the phone with a friend, so it's more dangerous."

"But I want a lift! I want to see Fuyu!" Natsuno nagged.

The adult man heard Kyoko chuckling on the phone. "So her name's Fuyu, huh?" she asked in amusement over the father-and-son conversation.

"It's Fuyuka, actually," he got up and scratched the back of his head before lifting his son up into his arms. "'Fuyu' as in winter and 'ka' from 'kaori' as in scent. By the way, sorry about my son, Kyoko-san."

"That's alright. He sounds so adorable," came her reply accompanied by small giggles. "Once again, congratulations! Send my regards as well to your wife."

"I'll make sure to let Madoka know." Yoshimoto looked at Natsuno with a smile. "Natsu-kun, don't you want to tell Kyoko-oneechan 'happy birthday'?"

The boy beamed. He grabbed the cell phone in his small chubby hands and put it close to his ear with the help of his father. "Onee-tan, happy birthday!"

He smiled even wider when a gentle voice of a girl answered him. "Thank you very much, Natsu-kun!"

"Onee-tan, are you going to eat cakes and open presents?" he asked innocently.

The girl on the phone giggled. "I already did, Natsu-kun."

To Yoshimoto's surprise, Natsuno suddenly yelled in tantrum. "Why did Onee-tan not invite me? Not fair! I also want to open presents and eat cakes with Onee-tan!"

The manager quickly took the phone back and said quickly, "Sorry about his behavior, Kyoko-san!" He then bowed apologetically to people who stared bewildered at him in the hospital hallway. "I think it's time to hang up for now. I just want to remind you that all of your schedules for tomorrow and the day after that have been pushed back, so you're free to go to the court hearing for two days. And on the 28th, you have 'Box-R' at 7 am and a photo shoots for 'Atelier Utahime' at 4 pm. Any question?"

"Are you going to pick me up?"

"Yes, don't worry about that. Have a good day, Kyoko-san. I'll talk to you some time later." With that, he abruptly ended the phone call with a sigh. He then narrowed his eyes at his fretting son. "Natsu-kun, you know you can't speak that loudly in the hospital."

"But I want to open presents!" the little boy nagged.

Yoshimoto let out a huge huff of breath. "I'll ask Kyoko-oneechan later if she still needs help with opening presents, and if she does, I can bring you to meet her and help her open presents."

Natsuno quickly calmed down and grinned. His father grasped his hand and led him away from the basic neonatal care floor. After a while walking, Yoshimoto opened a door of a patient room and immediately caught sight of his beautiful black-haired wife, Madoka. Although her face was clouded with tiredness, happiness was still clearly shown. However, there was also skeptical worry in her expression while her cobalt eyes were fixed on the television perched on the wall in front of her.

The boy pulled his hand out of his grasp and ran towards the bed before climbing onto it to his mother's side. Madoka's attention was quickly shifted to the cheerful boy with a startle. Her hand found its way to the top of his ebony-haired head before ruffling it affectionately.

"How are you this morning, Madoka?" Yoshimoto asked as he walked towards his family.

"Better than ever," she answered while her husband leaned down to give her a quick kiss. "Did Natsuno behave well?"

"He did most of the time," he shrugged. "I might bring him to meet Kyoko-san later this afternoon if she's available. He's dying to meet her and open her birthday presents."

Madoka suddenly frowned lightly in concern. "Speaking of KYOKO-san," she said while pointing at the television. "Isn't it her? All gossip programs are talking about her at the moment."

Yoshimoto turned around to have a look at the screen. True to his wife's words, there the chestnut-haired girl was, shown dancing a waltz with Tsuruga Ren, while two girls hosting a gossip program talked about a possible love triangle between her, Ren, and Fuwa Sho.

_This is so not good._

* * *

Kyoko flipped her phone close with a smile. She almost laughed aloud when Yoshimoto's son yelled at her for apparently doing something he enjoyed without him.

Her golden eyes shifted to the sleeping dark-haired man lying down on his right side beside her. _I wonder if we'll have a future much like Yoshimoto-san's: that Kuon and I will have a family and live in a comfy house with our children running around... Wait, why am I thinking this?_

Her left hand gently stroked Kuon's dyed locks. She loved the softness of those locks, and playing with them always calmed her nerves down. She then glanced at the clock.

"Kuon," she murmured near his ear. "Wake up. It's 8 already."

He groaned and stretched his long body before looking at her lazily with one opened lush green eye. "Let me sleep some more," he mumbled, slipping his left arm around Kyoko's shoulder and pulled her to him as she squeaked.

"But Kuon, don't you have work today?"

"Kyoko, today's an international holiday and everyone knows it. How cruel of you to have me working during my deserved holiday? Now let's go back to sleep. Aren't you tired after the hullabaloos of the party last night?"

She sighed in defeat and let him enveloped her in a tight embrace as they lazed around on his bed. Unfortunately for her, wide awake as she was, she could not easily go back to slumber. So instead, she played again with Kuon's hair.

"I love it when you do this," he sighed in content, his eyes tightly closed.

"You do?" she asked in surprise.

"Uh-huh. It chases away bad feelings."

They were silent for a while, until Kuon asked teasingly, "Aren't you going to try the lingerie Amamiya-san gave you to see if it fits?"

Kyoko instantly blushed deep red. "Kuon!" she exclaimed, completely embarrassed at his remark.

He only chuckled while pulling her flush against him and flinched when he felt her slapping him on the chest. "I'm sorry, Princess, I was joking!"

"You'd better stop those kinds of joke or else," she threatened, obviously unhappy.

Kuon lifted his left hand. "I hereby solemnly swear, again, that I won't do or say anything inappropriate," he said before adding, "Unless you are the one insinuating." That earned him another slap from his adorable girlfriend.

"Kyoko," he spoke again, opening his eyes and looking at her seriously. "Won't you consider moving in with me? You're 18 already."

"For your record," she replied as seriously as him, "I have a father who is now actively involved in my life and doesn't approve of you."

"I'm sure we can convince him somehow."

Kyoko stared at him as if he was talking non-sense. "Are you kidding?" she asked. "Don't you see the way he threatened you on the stage last night?"

"He always says that whenever he sees me," Kuon shrugged with one eyebrow raised. "And now I'm almost convinced that it's become a habit of his, whether he really means it or not. I'm even wondering if that's his own affectionate way to regard me with."

She sighed in defeat. "Seriously, you really have no shame, do you?"

The man grinned. "That, my darling, is called optimism." He then gave her a peck on the lips.

He was going to kiss her deeper when his cell phone suddenly rang. Groaning, Kuon flailed his unoccupied left arm and fished around for the damned device. Once he touched it, he grabbed it and flipped it open before snapping, "This better be good, Boss."

Kuon swore he could sense Lory cringed at his tone. "Actually," his employer began, "I'm calling about a bad news. Is Mogami-kun with you?"

"She is," he answered, glancing at a puzzled Kyoko. "What happened?"

"Good. I'll be at your apartment in one hour. See you." And the phone call was ended, leaving the couple pondering upon it.

On the next second, Kyoko's phone rang aloud. She quickly snatched it from the bedside table and flipped it open, only to found Yoshimoto calling her again. "Hello?"

"Kyoko-san," her manager hurriedly greeted her. "Have you seen the gossip program?"

"Gossip program?" she repeated in confusion, her ochre eyes locked with Kuon's emerald ones. He immediately switched the television on, and 'True Reflection' PV was on the screen. Kyoko raised one eyebrow in skepticism. "They're fussing about 'True Reflection', that's what I can see."

She had to swallow her words, though, when the hosts said something she had never imagined being mentioned on TV the next moment.

"That, our dear viewers, was Fuwa Sho's 'True Reflection', released today, 25th December. Is it really a coincidence that Sho-san's ballad songs are always released on this date?" one of the gossip hosts asked.

"Not only that, viewers," the other host added. "Can't you see the lovey-dovey chemistry between KYOKO and Ren in this PV? Look at the angel and the halfling? Their 'love' is that touching I can't make myself believe it's only acting! Furthermore, a lot of people mentioned that they saw pair dancing intimately in a party hosted by KYOKO last night!"

"Does that mean that KYOKO is playing with the two's feelings?"

Kuon turned the television off with a snarl. "They're talking bullshit," he told Kyoko whose face was completely pale. "Don't take them seriously."

"But this matter is really serious, Kuon," she replied, her voice quivering. "This can affect your image and reputation!"

"No," he retorted back. "This can affect _your_ image and reputation. Kyoko, the one being talked bad about was you! They made people assuming that you're a player! I'm not having my girlfriend being looked down upon like that!"

"Then what should we do?"

He smirked confidently. "Leave it to our president extraordinaire."

* * *

When Kyoko had agreed to leave the matter completely to her employer, never had she thought that it would ever get big.

And here she was, still stunned from the moment Lory barged into Ren's apartment, sitting once again at the long table and facing the flashing cameras. The flamboyant man himself was dressed in a pinstripe suite not unlike Al Pacino. His usual entourage was similarly dressed as American mafia underlings and currently acting as bodyguards around the stage.

Ren squeezed her clammy hands firmly. "It'll be alright," he mouthed to the girl, trying to get her to relax. "Let me do all the talking unless they ask specifically for you. Trust me."

"Fellow journalists," Lory's baritone voice boomed across the hall. "I am pleased to have you all present here to clarify a rumor about two of my dear children. Now I'll just let Tsuruga Ren have his say in this matter straight away."

The actor squeezed Kyoko's hand once again before releasing it and reached for the microphone. He exchanged a meaningful glance with his girlfriend and nodded curtly. Ren then turned his face towards the press.

"Once again, thank you very much for being present," he said calmly with a smile. "And in this occasion, clarifying the rumor of a love triangle between Kyoko, Fuwa, and I, Kyoko and I are more than happy to officially announce that we have been dating before we were involved in Fuwa's 'True Reflection', even before the rumor between Kyoko and Fuwa started."

* * *

Shoko was completely shocked to see Sho's 'Deva mode' glaring at the blaring television. "Sho!" she panicked. "What happened to you?"

"_That _happened," he growled, pointing at the television.

She quickly turned around to see the live broadcast of the press conference confirming the rumor between Tsuruga Ren and KYOKO. The female manager spotted the tall actor standing next to the sitting Kyoko.

From the television, a journalist was heard asking. "So Fuwa didn't know that you two were already a couple when he made the statement a month ago?"

"Well," Ren cleared his throat before replying. "That time, both of us decided to keep our relationship a secret from everyone but our closest acquaintances, and as we're not that well acquainted with Fuwa, of course he didn't know about us."

_So the cat's out of the bag now_, she sighed inwardly before looking at her charge from the corner of her eyes. True to her expectations, the bottle-blonde was seething with rage.

"About his declaration of love during the press conference a month ago, Tsuruga-san, do you have anything to say about that?"

Ren looked a bit perplexed before showing his trademark gentleman smile towards the press. "I have to admit that he's a huge rival for Kyoko; I won't deny that there's a bad blood between the two of us because of that, but out of it all, I respect him for bravely declaring his feelings towards Kyoko to the public."

In Sho's mind, an imaginary Ren – mini-devil version – smirked at him and continued what his real counterpart in the television had said, "But, unfortunately for you, she chose me, not you, so suck it up, asshole."

Shoko, of course, had no idea what was conspiring in his head when she saw him turning further into a form she would henceforth call 'Super Saiyan'.

Another journalist was heard. "KYOKO-san, there are some people speculating that you decided to date Tsuruga-san only to spite Fuwa-san. Can you please confirm that?"

Kyoko looked startled. The girl changed glances with Ren in a flash before reaching for the microphone in front of her and standing up. "Thank you for your question and I do agree that this has to be clarified," she said calmly. "Contrary to everyone's belief that me being in a relationship with Re – Tsuruga-san is only to ride on his fame or to spite Fuwa-san, I have to tell you that I'm pretty much in l… lo…"

The female manager giggled quietly in sympathy when she saw the chestnut-haired girl struggling with her words. _I guess the word is still taboo for her, even when she has managed to have the most wanted bachelor in Japan to be her boyfriend, huh? Poor thing._ She then glanced at Sho and deadpanned when she noticed him still seething. _And the culprit has no remorse whatsoever._

* * *

"… genuine affectionate feelings towards Tsuruga-san," Kyoko managed to finish as her face flushed heavily, although every one of the people in the same room as her sweat-dropped in confusion over her wording. Ren chuckled in amusement under his hand, while Lory's eyes were tearing up at his favorite LoveMe member.

_Why did she change the most beautiful word and syllable into three words that successfully reduce the intensity of the feeling?! _The flamboyant man screamed in his mind. _Is she going to die if she says the word?!_ "Femagz."

"Tsuruga-san, KYOKO-san," the reporter began. "As KYOKO-san is already considered of legal age to marry, do you two have any plan to tie the knot soon?"

Ren was about to answer when he felt the chill on the back of his neck. Nervously, he glanced towards Kento, who stood at the backstage – together with Yashiro, Yoshimoto, and the little sweet Natsuno – openly glaring at him as if saying, "Say whatever it is you're ready to say, boy, and I'll make sure to castrate you right here right now in front of the press."

After gulping several times and calming his nerves down, he let his gentleman smile out and said, "No; we both think it's still too fast for us to progress to marriage." – Of course, with his crossed fingers hidden safely from Kento. _I hope that appeased him_, he hoped inwardly.

* * *

"That went pretty well," Yoshimoto sighed when they had arrived back at Ren's condo. "When Madoka showed me the gossip talk, I thought my heart stopped for seconds."

The tall actor grinned sheepishly as both men slumped into his comfortable couch. "Sorry about that," he apologized sincerely. "I've never thought someone would snap a picture of Kyoko and I. I'm really sorry to drag you away from your family in such times."

"For your record, Tsuruga-kun," the silver-eyed manager corrected Ren, "you didn't exactly drag me away from my family, as I can still see one before my eyesight." His gaze fell onto his son, who had begun fussing about Kyoko's pile of unopened present with excitement that could only be managed by toddlers.

"Onee-tan, why people ask you questions?" Natsuno asked his father's charge curiously.

Kyoko took a moment to consider an appropriate answer for a two-year-old, before finally settling on "Because they want to be friends with me and know me more."

The reply was said cutely, making her heart swoon. "I too want a friend like Onee-tan, because Onee-tan has lots of presents."

She laughed heartily. "Well, go on and open them for me?"

The boy did not have to be told twice. He quickly ran to the pile and started unwrapping the presents, sometimes stopped in awe by the sight of the lavish gifts Kyoko's friends had given her. However, after a moment he grabbed Kyoko's sleeve and showed her a particular box wrapped in ordinary oil paper. "Onee-tan, this present's weird."

"How so?" she asked in puzzlement.

"Because, it's a present, but the paper's so ugly," he said with a pout. Nevertheless, his hands began to open the box.

Yoshimoto had never been this shocked when he heard Natsuno screaming in pain. He and Ren quickly bolted up from their seat and strode over in urgent hurry towards Kyoko, who was trying her best to calm the screaming boy down. "What happened?" he asked in panic.

"I'm not exactly sure myself," she replied in exasperation. "He was opening that box," she pointed at the ordinarily wrapped box, "and suddenly water squirted out and wetted his hands. Not a moment later, his hands burned badly."

Ren carefully lifted the box up. True to his expectations from Kyoko's story, he quickly felt his fingers stung. He immediately threw the box into the currently empty rubbish bin. "It's corrosive," he told everyone as he reached for his home phone. "A pretty strong one at that. I'm calling the police and the ambulance."

* * *

"As Tsuruga-san has informed us, it was sulfuric acid; a very strong corrosive," one of the police told them with a loud voice, trying not to be overwhelmed by Natsuno's wail during the treatment of his rather dire burn. "Did you say it squirted out of one of the presents you got, Mogami-san?"

Kyoko could only meekly nod her head.

The forensic staff returned and handed a plastic bag containing a card to the officer as they spoke in hushed voice. The officer turned back at them and asked seriously while showing them the card. "Mogami-san, by any chance do you know this person who wrote this? It was found in the box together with the intricate device containing the corrosive."

She and Ren looked at the card, and she gasped in shock, while her boyfriend clenched his jaws in fury.

* * *

_Dear my daughter,_

_I hope my present gets nicely into your sight._

* * *

**I think I don't have to tell you again who the sender of the box was.**

**A/N: I am currently looking for a beta reader for my newest story (still in the progress of being written, but I think it will be put on hold until I can escape my pile of assignments and exams. I personally expect to work on it again starting from the end of June). I am especially looking for someone who has great knowledge on slangs used in the police force in the areas of human trafficking and modern slavery. Anybody up to the task? PM me! ;)**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	17. Crisis -Saena and Marina-

**What else can I say other than my thanks to all of you who faved, followed, and left reviews, and apology for not updating for a long time?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 17: Crisis ~Saena and Marina~

Kyoko was a complete wreck at the moment. And there are just so many reasons for her to be in such state - at least, her self-justified ones.

First, she was in the middle of a guilt trip for letting the dear little Natsuno get hurt in her stead. She could not fathom why no one blamed her for the incident, especially Yoshimoto, who was currently busy soothing his son. Hearing the boy wailing in pain while being treated broke her heart, and she repeatedly blamed herself for letting him open the damned box.

Second, she was scared out of her wits after she had been shown the card the police had retrieved from the hellish gift. She knew a lot of people did not like her - she had never had even a friend before she got into LME, thanks to a certain someone - but she had never imagined that someone harbored a hatred deep enough to want to harm her to such extent - except for the one incident with Chiori, of course, and they had made amends for that.

The small part of her heart screamed that this was related to her mother, but Kyoko just did not want to admit it.

Third, she absolutely hated it when she inconvenienced others. Just like this moment, where all of her friends and families - including Kuu and Julie - flocked together and crammed themselves in Ren's living room right after he had told them about the incident. Kyoko knew they did that because they cared about her, but she was not that important for people to worry about.

Ren noticed her discomfort, and with a sad expression on his face, he gathered her into his warm embrace, ignoring Kento's pointed glare at him.

Meanwhile, Julie was screaming her frustration out about the matter near Marina, who was just as displeased as the American woman was. Facing them, Kisaki pinched and massaged the bridge of her nose tiredly.

"And why can't we demand them to issue a restraining warrant for that crazy bitch?" the blonde woman growled menacingly, so angry that she forgot that not everybody in the room understood English perfectly.

Luckily for her, Kisaki understood her and did not need Lory to translate for her. "As I said before, Mrs. Hizuri, we lack concrete evidence that can pin Mogami Saena as the culprit-"

"What other evidence do we need?" Julie demanded impatiently. "It's clear that this is her doing!"

"For the love of the Lord, Julie, I need you to calm down!" Lory finally snapped. "I know that we're all worried about Mogami-kun, but-"

Kuu abruptly stood up with a deeply flushed face. "Boss, this is our daughter we're talking about! How can you tell us not to worry?"

"For your information," the flamboyant president dead-panned with a roll of his eyes, "Uehara-san here is your daughter's real father and he looks not that worried at all."

And Lory was speaking the truth. During the time when Julie chattered in rage, Kento had not uttered any word out. Instead, he just sat next to Seijuro on the couch and had only been glaring at Ren.

As to be expected from a person whose mind had not been following the conversation, he was startled when his name was mentioned by Lory. "Ah... Huh?"

Seijuro sweat-dropped and smacked his cousin on the back of his head. "Right when everyone is serious, you just went ahead and daydreamed..." he growled.

"Sorry," Kento mumbled. "I just find it hard to accept the possibility that Saena might be the culprit."

Kyoko was glad that she was not the only one.

"But then, looking at the situation, I can't deny that that's the only possibility."

She felt like she was plummeted down in an instant.

"What I am not able to understand," Marina said, "is how Saena knew about the party, and how she slipped in to put the box among the other presents."

Kisaki suddenly smiled sheepishly. "About that," she mumbled.

The ghostwriter arched one of her eyebrows up enquiringly. "'About that'?"

"I think you can blame my idiot husband for Saena knowing about the party," the lawyer continued. "He's been investigating Kyoko-san for the past few days, requested by a Mogami Saena."

"You cause me to despise your husband now," Marina grumbled heartily. "But still, she was not supposed to be able to come into the hall. Only guests with invitation are allowed."

Lory let his fingers to play with his new goatee. "I'll have an investigation done on the staff we hired yesterday. And Kisaki-san," he looked at Kisaki, "please have your husband refrain from what he's been doing for Saena, or else I can report him to the police."

"That is a bit too much, isn't it?" Seijuro commented with an uneasy grin. "The poor man's just doing his work. Anyway, I am more interested to another thing I noticed."

"And that is…?" Kisaki enquired expectantly.

The older Akatoki frowned deeply. "I'm concerned about the 'sight' part… Why did the sender specifically said, 'I hope my present gets nicely into your sight'?"

"It is as if she wanted to eradicate Kyoko-san's ability to see," Marina added, agreeing with her brother. "But then, what is the reason for it?"

Julie huffed and mumbled furiously under her breath, and Ren had to grimace when he caught the foul curses out of his mother's lips. Now he remembered never to piss the American woman off.

"And even if we are sure that Mogami Saena is the culprit – and I'm continuing from where I was before I was cut off, thank you very much – we still don't have enough evidence to back us up," Kisaki said matter-of-factly. "First of all, there is no name written on the card. Saena's name has never been mentioned to the media, although practically everyone knows that Kyoko-san's estranged from her mother. Anyone can do something like sending a card with corrosive and use a black sheep to cover his tracks.

"Also, there's no fingerprint found on the card and the box, except the ones of Tsuruga-san and Natsuno-kun. We have no evidence to claim that Saena is trying to harm her daughter for the court to issue a restraining order, or to help us win the custody of Kyoko-san and the violence case."

Seijuro asked, "What about your husband?"

A vein popped out on the lawyer's temple. She snarled, "Please don't mention anything about him at the moment. Or preferably, for the rest of my life. I don't want to have anything to do with that idiot of a man any longer."

"Well, he might go into a guilt trip once he is notified of what has happened to the girl he was snooping around," Kuu suggested helpfully with sly gleam in his eyes. "Now, onto the next problem: how are we going to protect Kyoko?"

"I, too, absolutely do not wish for Kyoko to be in the vicinity of that mad woman," Marina retorted. "What about hiring bodyguards?"

Kyoko sprung up from her seat. "Marina-san, please! There's no need for bodyguards!"

"Princess," Ren sighed wearily. "You could've been injured that time!"

"But–"

"Mogami-kun," Lory spoke up. "Please. Just this once for the sake of our peace of mind."

Kyoko was horrified. "Definitely not!"

"Kyoko," Ren butted in. "I thought having bodyguards is one trait of a rich young lady?"

"Not. Only damsels in distress are like that," Kyoko retorted in monotone before sighing. "I just don't want to be seen as weak and spoiled, with all the already spreading rumors and all. I feel that having a bodyguard with me 24/7 will make matters worse."

"Actually, that's a good point," Seijuro said. "But, Kyoko-chan, I seriously fear for your safety. If you're so repulsed with the idea of having a bodyguard, can you propose something that can put us at ease?"

The reply was rather blunt. "Nothing. Other than me being in the crowd as often as possible, there's nothing else I can think of. But Yoshimoto-san will be together with me during my work, and I can always hang around the other casts and crews. Having bodyguards will only distance me from them and make me the centre of attention."

"Well, I can't always be together with you. Dressing rooms, for example," Yoshimoto reasoned, his arms enveloping sobbing Natsuno in his warm hug. "In fact, I think dressing rooms are the most risky."

"And the easiest to solve," Marina added. "And to think of it again, hiring bodyguard is a waste of money if Kyoko-san does not go out into the public a lot. So far, Yoshimoto-san has made sure that she stays in our protection."

Kyoko gasped. "Does that mean I will get fewer jobs?!" she shrieked.

"It's not like that, Mogami-kun," Lory assured the girl. "We're just making sure that one of us is going to be with you during your work. And you're going with us to the court for the hearing for the next two days, anyway."

She frowned and huffed. "I hate inconveniencing everybody," she muttered grumpily.

"Are you kidding?" Kuu cried. "Kyoko, there's no way in hell you're inconveniencing us! You're family!"

"And family defend each other," Julie confirmed with a fierce nod. "Besides, I can't wait to see the damn woman and sock her in the face again."

"Agreed," Marina mumbled before she and Julie did a little toast with their water-filled glasses.

* * *

_She felt a pain in her chest when she saw her mother slumping on the desk, pinching the bridge of her nose and sighing wearily. And of course, as usual, the woman ignored her all the same._

Mom is just tired_, she forced herself to think. _May be I can do something to help…

_With that, she reached for her mother and tried to grasp the hem of the woman's sleeve, only to no avail as she was quickly glared at with a pair of menacing black eyes and her hand was slapped away. She flinched and instantly pulled her hand back._

_"What are you looking at?" the woman snapped. She trembled when her mother stood up from her seat. "You must be laughing at me for being a pathetic, aren't you?"_

_"No, Mom, I–"_

_"Shut up!" the woman backhanded the frightened girl on the face. "Don't look at me like that, especially with those eyes! They're so disgusting they give me the creeps!"_

* * *

Kyoko woke up with a start and bolted up on her bed. She felt her chest constricting, and she quickly realized that she was hyperventilating. Her body was covered in cold sweats that soaked her pajamas.

She reached for her glass of water on the bedside table, but her hand was trembling so much the glass fell down with a loud crash.

Hurried footsteps were heard and the next moment, Marina appeared at her door, looking concerned. She gasped loudly when she saw Kyoko.

"Kyoko-san!" she cried out before striding towards the bed and sitting next to Kyoko. "What happened? Your face is so pale!"

The chestnut-haired girl tried to tell her aunt that she had been just having a nightmare, but she did not have any oxygen in her lungs. She could only squeak.

Marina reached for Kyoko's back and rubbed soothing circles on it, relaxing the girl. She then drew her into a light hug. "Do you feel fine now?"

"Thank you," Kyoko whispered, not feeling confident with her voice at the moment.

"What happened?"

"A nightmare," the girl whispered. "Or rather, a bad memory from when I was a child."

"About Saena?"

Kyoko flinched before sighing, leaning into the woman's embrace. "I think I know what the meaning of her gift is."

Marina leaned back to look at her face enquiringly.

"She doesn't want to see my eyes."

* * *

Kisaki sighed as Marina told her Kyoko's story. Both of them were in the waiting room, waiting for the hearing to start. "Just because she didn't want to see the girl's eyes–" the lawyer chocked. "Marina, is this really possible?"

"Nothing is impossible for a woman such as Saena," the ghostwriter replied glumly.

"Where is she now?"

"She is with Tsuruga-san. I sent her to stay at his apartment last night. Judging from the view of perspective that prioritizes her security and wellbeing, Brother and Kento both agreed with me, albeit grudgingly, that that was the best course of action we could do. She is not coming to today's hearing, if that answers your true question."

Kisaki pinched the bridge of her nose. "She's under house arrest, huh?"

"I will not exactly say that it is house arrest, as she is not at my residence."

"Okay!" The brown-haired woman flailed her hands up in exasperation. "'Confined'! That's the term, and I won't have you say otherwise!"

Marina only giggled at her childhood friend.

"So, is she allowed to come to the hearing tomorrow?" Kisaki asked with growing hope in her eyes.

"I think so," the Akatoki lady mumbled. "It should be safe tomorrow, with all of us present in the court room and the security ready."

"Good," the lawyer sighed in relief. "Or else I don't know what else to do to let Kento win the custody."

They were silent for a moment, before Kisaki asked her best friend something that had been bugging her since the time she had been informed of the case. "Marina-chan, why exactly do you not like this woman?"

Marina raised one eyebrow in confusion. "Which woman are thou speaking of?"

"Come on, you know who I'm talking about."

"If it is Saena thou are speaking of, then repeating the reasons I loathe her is not necessary. I have told you already."

Kisaki frowned. "Because of that thing between her and Kento-kun? Marina, seriously, your dislike of Mogami Saena runs deeper than that."

The ghostwriter sighed in defeat. "I will admit that that is not the only reason why I detest Saena."

"What happened?"

Marina sighed again before beginning her story. "It started about one year after Kento and Saena began dating."

* * *

"Marina-san is sterile?" Kyoko repeated in disbelief, her golden eyes wide. Next to her, Ren looked surprised himself.

Seijuro only made a small nod. "She didn't use to be like that, though. You see, one year after she started college, Marina got engaged."

Kyoko suddenly squealed. "Marina-san got engaged in such a young age? That's so like a princess!"

_I know she would say so_, the Akatoki snickered inwardly. "Can I continue? Well, I suppose it was only predictable as she and Naoya had already dated since their high school years, and our parents had already given their consent for their relationship.

"At that time, Kento and Saena had just started dating. You know that Saena's basically a hard-working person, and of course people, including the three of us, saw that as a good characteristic of hers. But I guess we were blinded by her story of her family situation."

"Do you mean the mention that she was very poor and had to struggle to maintain her scholarship?" Ren asked to clarify.

"That one," Seijuro confirmed. "Wow, you sure have a good memory, Tsuruga-kun."

The brunette actor smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Anyway, because of that, we overlooked something that apparently had been her true nature," the older man continued. "Saena was always craving for accomplishments and strongly competitive towards others, and in the unhealthy level. I know that Kento might deny this, but it's true; at least that's how I see it.

"And I don't know how it started, but Saena started viewing Marina as a rival. Things then just went badly between them, because Saena would do anything to prevent Marina from achieving something. There was this one time when Marina's manuscript for a children book competition was suddenly missing. We knew it was Saena, though we had nothing to prove that."

Kyoko's hands balled into fists. "What happened then? I mean, about the competition?"

Seijuro grinned. "Marina rewrote the whole story in an ungodly speed, and then sent it to Fumiyo-chan, her illustrator. They bagged the trophy without anyone scoring closely. I wish you could see the look on Saena's face the moment Marina and Fumiyo-chan received the trophy on the stage; she could star successfully in a blockbuster horror movie.

"But it didn't stop there. One year after the engagement, Marina got pregnant. She and Naoya were so happy about that. Why not? They loved each other and planned to get hitched, anyway. Three days later, Naoya died in a car crash."

The chestnut-haired girl covered her agape mouth with her hands as she gasped. Her uncle continued grimly, "There was evidence that the brake had been tempered, but no other clues that could point out who the culprit was. Of course Marina got distraught, but she was still strong for their unborn child.

"A day after Naoya's funeral, she and Saena had a talk on the roof of the university's building. I honestly don't know what happened that time. I just heard someone screaming that someone had fallen from the stairs. When I got there, Marina had been bleeding heavily.

"She lost the baby."

* * *

"I suffered from heavy internal bleeding from my broken ribs, and one of them apparently punctured the wall of my womb, damaging it. They had to remove it," Marina finished.

Kisaki was speechless as she tried to make sense out of her friend's story. When she finally found her voice, she croaked, "But that's no reason to despise Mogami, right?"

"That time I would let the matter go as an honest accident, if I had not seen her smiling when she saw me falling down the stairs."

"But then that means–"

"That she was the cause of my inability to have children? That is exactly it."

The door was knocked and the bailiff peered over. "It's time, Kisaki-san."

Kisaki slapped her cheeks lightly and rose from her seat, followed by Marina. "Well, here goes."

* * *

Surprise could not describe what Marina was feeling perfectly when she saw Kyoko and Ren sitting behind Lory, Kuu, and Julie in the courtroom. "I did advise you to not come, didn't I?" she asked.

"You did; I didn't listen," Kyoko replied determinedly. "Look, I know you're worried about me, but you can't just keep me away from meeting her. Meeting her will be just inevitable for me; it'll bind to happen sooner or later, anyway."

"But still–"

"Marina," Kento, who sat next to Kyoko, cut his cousin off. "She's an adult already – she can make her own choice. Just let her be, stop being a mother hen for a moment, and focus on the hearing, okay?"

The sound of gavel banging startled them all, before the booming voice of the judge echoed throughout the room. "Be seated. Court is in session."

Marina and Kisaki quickly scampered to their designated seats with faces flushing in sheepish embarrassment.

"Today's schedule is to hear about the violence reported to be conducted on Mogami Saena by Akatoki Marina," the judge read from the papers before him. "I gather that both the defendant and the plaintiff are present?"

"Pardon me, Your Honor," a man in suit sitting opposite them stood up slowly. "I am sorry to say that my client, Mogami Saena-san, is not able to be present at court today due to some health problems."

Marina's eyes widened in surprise. She glanced at Kyoko and Kento, whose faces mirrored hers.

* * *

**Additional Disclaimer: I do not own Kisaki Eri; Aoyama Gosho does.**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	18. Crisis -Her Situation-

**I'm so hopeless in updating at the moment :( **

**Thank you for dancingfingers, mrs. zala, Angeline G. McFellou, onliafaze, Guest, Ladybugg0831, and chocolaty for reviewing (very sorry that I couldn't reply all of your reviews). Also big thanks for all of the readers who faved and followed - I can't type you guys one by one - for all the support.**

** dancingfingers (if you read this): Now I'm glad to know that I'm not the only S around here; I'm completely rest assured.**

**This chapter is pretty much a recap of Chapter 4 and 5 of 'The Next Episode', so please read those chapters for more details.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 18: Crisis ~Her Situation~

"What's with this score? All other children scored better than you did!"

_But Mom, I've done my very best!_

"You have to be better than that woman's bastard child, or else!"

_But Mommy, Daddy won't leave us like that!_

"He left us because you can't be better than her! Why can't you do anything right, huh?! You trash!"

_I'm so sorry, Mommy! I promise I will be better! I will!_

"You're the only one that I have left. Be the best, please? For Mommy's sake?"

_Of course; everything for you, Mom._

"You can't let anyone be better than you, or else Daddy won't come back to us."

_So if I become number one in everything, Daddy will come back?_

"Mommy loves you–"

* * *

Saena woke up with a very loud, choking gasp. She instantly sat up on her bed, sweat covering her whole body, soaking her night attire. Her black hair was in a massive disarray, and her brows were furrowed deeply they looked like knitted to each other.

The woman in her 40s was alone in her bedroom, in the one-bedroom unit of a mid-class apartment building located near the bustling center of Tokyo. It was a nicely decorated place with neat order all around, save her tousled bed and the mess of torn newspapers on the coffee table in the living room.

The image of her mother's face close to hers, looking at her with the eyes of a person close to the brink of insanity, made her stomach churn horribly. She quickly dashed to her bathroom and got to the water closet in time as whatever contents of her stomach was forced its way out through her mouth.

She gasped harshly for breath after there was nothing to be thrown up anymore, and leaned herself back against the cold tile wall of her bathroom. Her vision was blurry, and her whole body was trembling with disgusted feelings. She was sure that when people saw her in this state, they would surely think that she was hyperventilating.

Remembering her mother always drove her to this without fail.

She tried to stand up and walk back to her bed, almost losing her balance on the way. There was no way she could go to the hearing like this.

Saena reached for the landline phone on the side table and quickly called Kitami. Her voice, much to her dislike, was hoarse beyond belief as she spoke. "Kitami? It's Mogami. I don't think I can come to the court today."

* * *

"Now, Kitami-san, please open your case."

Kitami sighed and skimmed through his documents. "My name is Kitami Shinji, and I am here to represent my client, the appellant, Mogami Saena-san, who is not able to be present today due to health problems.

"Through me as her legal representative, Mogami-san has lodged an appeal against Akatoki Marina-san, due to the violent offenses done by Akatoki-san on Mogami-san which happened at the office of Lory Majestic Entertainment's president, Lory Takarada-san, on Tuesday, 2nd of November, 20XX. The reason for the offense was because Akatoki-san refused to let Mogami-san meet her daughter, Mogami Kyoko-san.

"As according to Article 204 about Injury, which is included in Chapter XXVII about Crimes of Injury in the Penal Code, Mogami-san as the victim pleads the court to sentence Akatoki-san, the offender, with imprisonment with work for not more than 15 years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen, which will be used as compensation for the cost of treatment for the injuries inflicted upon Mogami-san."

The judge and jurors looked at the documents. "Do you have your witness, Kitami-san?"

_It's now or never_, Kitami gulped inwardly. _Please don't feel bad about me, Kisaki-san. I really want to live through this._ "Your Honor, I would like to call Lory Takarada-san to the witness stand."

* * *

Now feeling better, Saena regretted informing Kitami beforehand that she would not be coming to the hearing. However, staying home was starting to be a little bit boring; with her apartment lacking anything interesting and the television had become a cracked mess.

In the end, she decided to get out and have a walk, letting her two feet bring her to wherever they wanted to. The Christmas spirit was still everywhere – from the displays of the neighbor's houses, the tall pine trees covered in decoration, even the lulling distant sound of Christmas songs being sung somewhere.

Before she realized it, she had boarded the train, got off at one station she knew she was familiar with, and her feet stopped in front of a house that belonged to a Takegawa household. Not knowing exactly what to feel, Saena opened the gate, walked past the front yard towards the door, and pushed the bell.

Not long after, the door opened to reveal a man in his early 70s. Most of his black hair had turned into gray, but it didn't make him less good-looking. His dark brown eyes gleamed with curiosity over who was at his front door, until they caught hers.

"Saena-kun!" he gasped, caught a little bit of guard. It was obvious that he hadn't expected her to turn up at his house.

She gave the man a small smile, although he could see that her eyes did not smile at all. "It's been a while, Yuu-san."

* * *

"First of all, Takarada-san," the judge began nervously. "Can I please ask kindly of you to change into another outfit as to not cause confusion in the courtroom?"

Lory was completely baffled. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

_EVERYTHING_, the entire people in the room thought, staring at the tall man who, apparently, had chosen to dress in a black cloak and white cravat over the shirt and black pants, something that easily could cause confusion if he were to sit side by side with the judge and the jurors.

Much to their relief, Sebastian came and him a white suit jacket that complemented his crisp shirt nicely. After Lory was convinced that the white would look better for the occasion, he was then turned into someone akin to Blood Dupre – without his cane and top hat, of course.

The judge cleared his throat, now pleased with his appearance. "Now, please say your oath."

"I swear that I will speak the truth, and only the truth," Lory said dramatically, ending the oath with a sigh as he put his left hand on his chest and raised his right one like a preacher. "Now, where I should we begin? That time, I was in my limo with my magnificent granddaughter–"

"Takarada-san," the judge butted in, a vein clearly visible on his temple. "I believe this is the time for the plaintiff representative to ask you questions."

"Ah, of course," the flamboyant president murmured, nodding in agreement. "Kitami-san, you're more than welcome to question me."

_He hasn't understood the point at all_, Kisaki thought, frowning deeply. Beside her, Marina had to work hard to stifle her laughter – the same case with their friends who were sitting in the audience seats. _This is the first time I have a witness that is _so eager _to testify. He's indeed out of ordinary._

Kitami – taken aback as he was – finally found his voice back and cleared his throat. "Err, alright, let's begin. Takarada-san, did you or did you not witness the violent dispute between Mogami Saena-san and Akatoki Marina-san on Tuesday, 2nd of November, 20XX, at approximately 7.30 pm?"

To everyone's surprise, Lory shivered violently on the witness stand. "I did," he said through his chattering teeth. "And I regret to be there."

_Wow_, Ren thought, looking at his boss. _Those women definitely have scarred him for life. To think that those women consist of my mother, my soon-to-be mother-in-law, and my soon-to-be aunt-in-law; now I'm dreading the moment all of them become my family when I marry Kyoko._

"The dispute happened in your office in Lory Majestic Entertainment main office building; is that correct?"

"Certainly."

"Can you please tell us exactly what happened during that time?"

Lory's eyes widened and he almost bolted out of the witness stand to kneel at Kitami's feet and beg. He begged, nevertheless. "Please! Other than that, please!"

The judge's gavel being knocked was heard. "Takarada-san, I don't want any unpleasant behavior in my court!" he hollered. "Now answer Kitami-san's question!"

The mustached tall man gulped audibly. "Well, it all started when I received a call from my receptionist, informing me that Mogami-san wanted to meet me once I got back to my office. She came at 6.30 pm sharp; now that I think of it, her punctuality can rival that of Ren–"

"Can you please stick to what exactly happened, Takarada-san?" Kitami cut him off.

Ren glowered. _Why did he have to bring my name into this?_

"After I got back to my office at around 6, I contacted Marina-chan straight away, since she is the legal guardian of my talent, KYOKO. I figured that what Mogami-san wanted to talk about was regarding KYOKO; she was her mother, after all.

"Once Mogami-san entered the office, she straightaway demanded me to annul the contract between KYOKO and LME. So I told her that I could do nothing about it, because according to the contract, the contract cannot be annulled without consultation with the talent and his/her legal guardian first."

Kitami did not really like where this testimony was going to. "And how did Mogami-san feel about it?"

"From the look on her face, I thought she was definitely going to butcher me," Lory answered. He was a bit exaggerating, of course, but he thought it would be good for publicity.

"What happened after that?"

"Mogami-san demanded to talk with KYOKO's legal guardian, so I told her that Marina-chan was coming, without mentioning Marina-chan's name at all. I didn't know that the two of them had a bad relationship. When Marina-chan arrived, they immediately did this glaring contest without saying anything."

The judge gulped in anticipation. "And then?"

"The first one to break the silence was Marina-chan," Lory continued. "But then what they were doing was only taunting each other about things I didn't really understand. The only thing I understood was that Marina-chan refused to annul KYOKO's contract and let Mogami-san meet KYOKO.

"I'm not sure what happened before Mogami-san slapped Marina-chan–"

"Wait a minute!" the judge exclaimed, completely into the story. "So Mogami-san was the first one to hit?"

"I think it was after Marina-chan mentioned a 'Kento' leaving her 18 years ago."

All eyes went to Kento, who was surprised to have his name mentioned. The judge, however, kept questioning Lory. "And this 'Kento' is…?"

"I believe they were talking about Uehara Kento-san, father of KYOKO, and the one who appointed Marina-chan as KYOKO's legal guardian," Lory replied. "But the story doesn't end there. I tried stopping both of them from yanking the life off each other, but then they had to smack me on the jaw."

The judge hummed. "Must have been hard on you."

"It was!" the flamboyant man exclaimed fervently. "Not only they ruined my office, they also bruised my jaw before an important press conference! And to make matters worse, another woman had to jump in and join the fight."

* * *

"It certainly has been a while since you last visited me, Saena-kun," Takegawa Yuu said while serving two cups of tea onto his coffee table in front of Saena. "How have you been doing?"

"I've been doing pretty well, I should say," she replied politely. "Work's good so far and at least I can relax instead of working myself really hard to earn something."

Takegawa patted her hand with a smile of a father. "Saeko-san will surely be proud if she can see you now."

"How's Mother doing?" Saena asked abruptly.

"She's doing pretty well herself," Takegawa sighed. "Saeko-san has been showing improvement – she has calmed down somewhat from her hysteria, which the doctors told me was a major improvement in a case such as hers – but some of her memories still haven't returned. She sometimes asks for Eiji-san, wondering whether he will come visit her."

Saena's thoughts turned grimmer when her mother still yearning for a hopeless relationship with her long-dead biological father was mentioned. "Yuu-san, can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"You know very well that Mother still loves my father deeply," she stated without hesitation, enticing a wry smile on the older man's face. "Then why did you decide to marry her in the first place, knowing that she would never love you?"

Takegawa's eyes softened. "The answer is just simple, Saena-kun," he said. "Just as Saeko-san loves Eiji-san like crazy, I love her just as much."

"Even if you look like the pathetic rebound guy that she only married to look after her useless kid after she were left behind by her shameful, cheating husband?"

"Now, now, do you really mean what you say?" he asked her back with a tease. "If you really think of Eiji-san as shameful, why do you still keep his surname?"

* * *

"So, do you admit that you joined the aggression towards Mogami Saena-san, Mrs. Hizuri?" Kitami asked.

Julie huffed - with both an irritation and a little sense of triumph in her tone - and stated, "And that's something that I will _never _regret for the rest of my life."

Kuu face-palmed at that. _Julie, honey, please! We don't need them to press charges at you too!_

"What was your reason to did so?" Kitami asked again, a bit nervous as he realized that he was facing the wife of the infamous Hizuri Koo a.k.a. Hozu Shuhei, a now Hollywood star and Japanese showbiz world's pride.

"Well," the American began slowly, "I heard Marina said that the woman was Kyoko's mother, and just before that I heard from my trusted source that my baby daughter was abandoned by that crazy woman when she was little. And now she's demanding to have Kyoko? Hah! Over my dead body!"

"Now, now, Mrs. Hizuri," the judge chuckled uneasily in an attempt to calm his fired-up witness down. "There's no need to be so emotional, right?"

He only received a sickly sweet smile from the blonde woman, and for some reason, he started to feel the chills.

Kitami decided to interrupt the silent interaction between Julie and the poor judge by clearing his throat. "What did you do to Mogami-san?"

Her face brightened with childlike excitement. "Oh," she said, "first I gave her a choke..."

_By the love of the lord, Julie, stop! _Kuu screamed inwardly.

"... and then I just sent jabs here and there. Not sure if I managed to hit the damn woman, but at least I hit something."

Her husband palmed his face again in exasperation.

* * *

"This way, Mogami-san," a nurse gestured for Saena to follow her with a kind smile. "Your mother will be elated to see you after so long."

_I doubt that_, Saena thought as she walked alongside the nurse across the mental institution's long hallway. Here and there she saw various people that were not in their right state of mind; some adults were giggling with dolls in their embrace, some others were doodling something gibberish, some were with their family members that came for a visit, and so on.

To think that her mother was among those people she deemed as society's trash...

They stopped on their tracks once they reached a door with 'Takegawa' written on the nameplate beside it. The nurse shifted the door open, revealing a pale thin woman in her early 70's sitting near the window, not noticing her two visitors.

"Saeko-san," the nurse called cheerfully. "Your daughter is here! You miss her, don't you?"

Saeko's eyes shifted just slightly to gaze at them, but Saena knew better than to assume that the older woman was looking at her.

"Saena, darling," Saeko croaked pitifully. "Is that you?"

"Yes," Saena said as she stepped further into the room. "It's me, Mother."

Saeko cracked a tired smile at her daughter. She opened her arms wide. "Come here, my baby, let me have a close look at you."

Hesitantly, Saena approached the older woman, stopping in front of her.

"Look at you!" Saeko cooed affectionately. "You were a sweet baby girl in my arms, and now you're a woman already! Time moves too fast for me. I'm sure Eiji-san..." Her voice trailed down and her eyes widened. "Where is Eiji-san?"

The younger woman did not say anything.

"Saena, where is your father?" her mother asked her frantically. "Isn't Eiji-san going to see me?"

"Mother," Saena said vehemently. "Father is dead."

It took long seconds for Saeko to let the blunt statement seep in. And it only took one quick second for Saena to be abruptly shoved out of the room and witness the nurse trying to restrain her now violent, screaming mother.

"It's a lie!" Saeko screamed. "You're lying to me! Eiji-san must not want to see me because you're a failure! It's all your fault!"

"I think it will be best for the both of you if you leave now, Mogami-san!" the nurse shouted, trying to overpower her patient's scream. "I'm really sorry that you have to see her in this state!"

Saena stared at her mother with unsympathetic eyes for some moment before walking away.

* * *

Kisaki sighed after the judge had finally given her permission to crosscheck the witnesses' testimonies. She knew that it was not supposed to be like this - each witness had to be crosschecked right after his/her testimony - but His Honor apparently was so enraptured in the manic occurrence that had happened in Lory's office that he forgot to run the court properly according to the rules. And shockingly, none among the judges tried to correct the course of the hearing either.

_Was a cat fight between two women so interesting that they could not wait for the ending? _she grumbled inwardly. "Your Honor, I see no need to crosscheck both witnesses as so far they were telling us exactly what they have told me before the court was in session."

Kitami let out a deep breath in relief.

"However," Kisaki continued, making the other lawyer jump, "I would like to point out that from the testimonies given, we can safely conclude that Mogami Saena-san, the plaintiff, was the one that inflicted injuries first; therefore, she herself can be charged for violation of Article 204 of the Penal Code."

The judge nodded as he hummed in agreement. "Kitami-san?"

"Your Honor," Kitami replied. "However, as the act was incited by Akatoki-san, the defendant, with insults that may have been intended to tick Mogami-san off, Akatoki-san can still be charged for violation of Article 206."

"So does that mean that your base of charge pressed towards the defendant has changed, Kitami-san?" the judge asked.

"I'm afraid so, Your Honor."

"Well then," the judge said. "Court will be adjourned until the plaintiff and the defendant revise their charges!"

And the gavel was knocked down three times, marking the ending of today's hearing.

* * *

After leaving the mental institution, Saena was not sure whether 'wreck' was the right word to describe her emotional state.

The strong winter breeze blew her hair, calling for her attention. When she came to, she was already in Shinjuku, facing a large screen where important breaking news and advertisements were usually broadcasted.

At the moment it was broadcasting a music video entailing a love story between a fallen angel and a man dressed in tattered black. She watched the video with moderate appreciation; she was no big fan of artistic media, after all. But eventually, after watching for a minute, Saena had to admit that the story was charming in a fairytale-like way.

A moment later, she was caught in surprise when the face of a boy she knew well – yet at the same time did not – appeared in the said video. The bottle blond was dressed in dark coat that screamed everything but modesty, and he was singing heartily into his microphone with his eyes looking at somewhere distant, as if he was looking at a girl that was beyond his love and reach while singing his apologies for being stupidly blind and not seeing her true worth.

She was – kind of – standing face to face with Fuwa Shotaro.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**The clauses mentioned by Kitami and Kisaki are REAL. Below are the exact translation of Chapter XXVII of the Penal Code, taken from Japanese Law Translation Database System (©2013, Minister of Justice, Japan):**

**Chapter XXVII Crimes of Injury  
Article 204 (Injury)  
A person who causes another to suffer injury shall be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 15 years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen.**

**Article 206 (Incitement of Injury)  
A person who incites the offender in the commission of a crime at the scene of a crime prescribed under the preceding two Articles shall, even if the person does not directly cause another to suffer injury, be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 1 year, a fine of not more than 100,000 yen or a petty fine.**

**Additional Disclaimers:  
- I do not own Kisaki Eri; Aoyama Gosho does.  
- Sadly, I also do not own Blood Dupre; QuinRose does. If I own him, I'm pretty sure I won't be dreaming of a boyfriend of my own right now.**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	19. Crisis -Who Is the Worst Devil?-

**As usual, thank you for readers who followed, faved, and left reviews :) So happy that the previous chapter was well-received.**

**I'm pretty amazed that the amount of readers favoriting 'True Reflection' still increases! I'm glad you guys love my stories!**

** kaitlynchosenisme: Hey! I haven't heard from you for quite some time, and I'm super glad to have your review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 19: Crisis ~Who Is the Worst Devil?~

Aki Shoko had repeatedly considered resigning from her position as Fuwa Sho's manager. She often could not stand his more-than-cocky attitude and selfishness, and she had applauded herself for persevering numerous times.

However, this time she was seriously considering resigning – or at least, applying for her long annual leave, which she had not had ever since she had been first assigned to the singer.

Sho's mood had not improved much ever since they had watched the official declaration of Kyoko and Ren's romantic relationship - it actually worsened by time. And he was still angry at Shoko after he had found out that Shoko had come to Kyoko's Grateful Party and seen the young new couple being intimate - which he had realized from the manager's lack of surprise when the footage of Ren and Kyoko dancing close to each other, and Shoko later had reprimanded herself for _not_ pretending in front of him.

Of course, because the bottle-blonde singer could not meet Kyoko – the real source of his anger – face to face, the manager was the one who got to deal with it.

Sometimes Shoko was more than tempted to lodge a job offer to LME's Love Me Department and asked specifically for Kyoko to be Sho's temporary manager, just so that she could have a break from Sho's impossible temper. But then, looking at the circumstances, she doubted that the offer would get an okay from Lory Takarada.

So here she was, walking nervously following Sho out of Akatoki Agency's office, while he was still in his 'Super Saiyan' mode.

"Sho," she sighed. "You have a live show at TBM after this, okay? The Japonet Scope."

He stopped at his track and turned around slowly. "HUH?" he snarled.

Shoko was completely frozen with tears brimming on her eyes.

Sho turned around and resume his walk out of the office, even while his manager was still frozen stiff at her place. He was absolutely pissed off. It was true that he had had his hunches after he had seen Kyoko and that pea-brained actor close to each other, but to think that they had been dating days before the PV shooting…

In his head, there were a mini-Kyoko and a mini-Ren – chibi-devil versions – smirking, laughing at him for being so stupid, and being overly lovey-dovey just to spite him. He even could swear that he heard the mini-Kyoko saying, "Ren, of course you're _FAR _better than Shotaro! He's only a lowly singer after all! I love you!"

"AAAAARGHHHH!" he growled loudly again, making people around him look at him like scaredy-cats.

How he wished to yank Kyoko from Ren's side and drill the fact that she belonged to him all this time into that non-active brain of hers… Anyway, did she even have a brain? Of course she did not – because if she had had a brain, she would not have agreed to have anything to do with the pinhead actor.

He stepped out onto the road, fuming, and he saw her. The 'Super Saiyan' mode he had donned quickly turned off, and blood drained from his face.

The dark-haired woman before him smirked evilly and spoke teasingly. "Long time no see, Sho-kun. You've been a really bad boy, huh?"

Now he wished he could run away somewhere for his life.

* * *

"So, what's going to happen tomorrow?" Marina pondered.

All of them – including Kyoko and Ren – were lounging at Kisaki's attorney office. At the moment, however, Kyoko's attention was on to Kisaki's cat, Goro, who had taken instant liking to the girl and been enticing her to play with him. And of course, Ren's attention was always on Kyoko.

The lawyer sighed. "In all honesty, I don't know. We've been lucky today that the witnesses called were the ones closely related to you, Marina-chan, but tomorrow? I'm sure he's going to call people from Kyoko-san's childhood, which scope is just too broad. It can be her grandparents, her teachers, her neighbors–"

"There's one living in Tokyo, though," Kento cut off her rambling. "If only I could remember his first name…"

"Who are you speaking of, if I may know?" Marina asked.

"You see, Saena's mother was divorced and then remarried. I remember Saena mentioning a Takegawa once, but I just can't remember his given name."

Kisaki frowned. "Then rack your brain, Kento-san; this might be the thing we need."

"You're sounding really harsh, Eri-chan," Seijuro said. "He can't help it, can he? It's been years."

"But this might be crucial in the case," Kisaki countered. "We need every detail we can get that can show Mogami-san neglecting Kyoko-san."

"Maybe you can contact her landlords in Kyoto?" Kuu spoke up.

All heads turned towards him and his wife, the lawyer nodding. "That'll do. What's their name?"

"Fuwa couple from Fuwa Ryokan. I reckon Kyoko had been living there permanently since 8."

"That's an obvious neglect," Julie fumed. "Who in her right mind will abandon her child in such age?"

"Certainly not her," Kuu grumbled. "I still can remember Kyoko's face when she was acting as my son. She had this horrored look whenever there was any situation where I might give her a punishment. My heart still aches at that, you know."

Kisaki nodded again. "We might as well start now. I so hate it when I'm not prepared for my court."

* * *

Sho gulped audibly, not daring to have eye contact with the woman sitting in front of him. Not far from them, Shoko was lounging alone at a table, staring nervously at the two.

The dark-haired woman, however, looked oblivious to Sho's and Shoko's discomfort, as she busied herself with her cup of coffee. After taking a sip, she looked at Sho with narrowed eyes. "What's with the silence, Sho-kun? Have your parents never thought you to at least give someone older than you a proper greeting?"

The bottle-blond teen flinched. "It's been long, Aunt Saena," he croaked forcibly. "I never expected to see you in Tokyo."

"Then where did you expect to see me?" she chided sarcastically, further discomforting Sho. "Now, I won't beat around the bush. Do you or do you not know that Kyoko is in the show business?"

His eyes widened – along with his manager's. He snapped his head up to look at Saena's face. Having spent all of his childhood with Kyoko, his protective instinct – although he had to admit that it was pretty small – kicked in. "Why are we suddenly talking about Kyoko?"

"So you know," Saena confirmed with a smirk. "Tell me, Sho-kun, how come she is in the show business? No, scratch that, how come she's in Tokyo in the first place?"

He was rendered speechless. Even if Saena was a mother who had abandoned her child at her neighbor's place, there was no way for him to tell her that he was the one who had brought said child to Tokyo so that he didn't have to do housework, right?

Apparently, his silence did not sit well with Saena, so she decided to continue the conversation herself. "Let me guess; you were the one who brought her here, weren't you?"

_Is she a psychic? _Sho grumbled inwardly.

"But then, she's working for LME, yet you're in Akatoki Agency. How come you're not together? As far as I can remember, she was completely smitten with you as a child."

"Err… We had… Differences," he tried to explain – albeit Shoko could see that he was doing a pretty lame job.

"Differences," Saena repeated, sipping her coffee in ignorance. "Such as?"

"Well, we have some issues to work on–"

"If you had differences and no longer could live together, why didn't you send her back to Kyoto?" the older woman asked, her eyes menacing. "Why did she suddenly become an actress?"

Sho gulped again. "She wanted to have revenge on me."

Saena was taken aback, before laughing in amusement. "Come on! That's the worst joke I've ever heard!"

"I mean it," he said sternly. "I thought at first that she would go back to Kyoto bawling her eyes out the first chance she got; I didn't expect her to take my challenge and made it in the showbiz as a rather acknowledged actress! I even planned to use her weakness to send her back to Kyoto and work in the _ryokan _for good, but–"

"So you were the one who made her join the show business, huh?" she summarized with her eyes closed.

When she flicked her eyes open at him again, Sho swore he could sense her wanting to kill him.

"Sho-kun, you are a really bad boy, aren't you? To bring Kyoko to the outside world like this, that's so bad of you."

* * *

"Am I speaking to Fuwa-san?" Kisaki asked over the phone. She then broke out into a polite business smile. "Good afternoon! Sorry to disturb you, my name is Kisaki. I am an attorney at law, and I am calling to enquire about a Mogami Kyoko."

"Kyoko-chan?" the female voice on the phone repeated with a surprise. "Is she alright? Is she having problem with the police?"

The lawyer cocked an eyebrow at Marina, who was sitting on the couch next to Seijuro and listening to the phone conversation – which was put on speaker, as if saying, 'Is she for real?'. The ghostwriter could only shrug her shoulders.

"No, not that sort of problem with the police," Kisaki assured the woman. "First, may I know who I am speaking to?"

"I'm Shinozawa Rikako. I apologize, Miss, but both the Taisho and Okami are not in Kyoto until next week, as they have some business in Tokyo."

_That's interesting_, the bespectacled woman thought.

"So is Kyoko-chan okay? Both she and Shotaro-bocchama are not getting into serious trouble, right?" the woman asked in panic.

_Shotaro-bocchama? _Kisaki huffed silently – while Marina and Seijuro, the only ones in the room who knew Sho's real name, snickered in amusement. "Both of them are fine, so please rest assured. But judging from your panic when I mentioned Kyoko-san having connection with someone related to law, can I assume that you had a close relation with Kyoko-san?"

"Of course!" the woman said. "I've known her since she was still a small child, Miss! A sweet, poor girl she was; to be left alone by her only family when she was that young!"

This perked Kisaki's interest. She turned to Marina and Seijuro to give them a smirk, which was returned in pleasure. "Can you elaborate more on that?"

* * *

Kyoko completely had no idea how her day turned to worse just by going to the grocery store with Kuon.

The couple had decided to have dinner with everyone, and because the adults – excluding Kuon, of course, since he did not want to consider himself old – were busy with preparing for tomorrow's hearing, Kyoko and Kuon had chosen to go ahead and shop for food first – so that when everyone came back from Kisaki's office, they could start eating straight away.

After some little lover's quarrel that had included Kyoko demanding to go to the cheap supermarket – "We can't waste money!" – and Kuon insisting to keep her safe whatever the total cost of the ingredients going to be, they had settled on doing groceries at the supermarket in their apartments' building – Kyoko of course screamed inwardly in horror once her eyes looked at the price of the vegetables.

It also had taken some persuasion from Kuon – which of course would not let her pay any single penny – for Kyoko to agree to buy everything she needed to cook, because he had noticed her mulling over whether she should buy things or not.

Apparently the said persuasion consisted of the fact that they were going to dine with Hizuri 'Black Hole for a Stomach' Kuu, and Kuon promising that he would eat double his usual portion. He had cringed inwardly when he had told her the latter.

Groceries done, Kyoko chose to wait outside with the bags while Kuon went with the supermarket manager to fetch a trolley, when she looked up and see a silver-haired and violet-eyed demon in front of her.

"Look who we have here," Reino said with a devilish grin. "What a nice occurrence to meet the Little Riding Hood."

Kyoko quickly dove one hand into her purse to grab her Corn stone while she left the plastic bags and strode towards the supermarket's entrance. "Why are you here, Beagle?"

"What? Can't I go to do my groceries?"

"You're an inhabitant of the deepest part of Hell that came to Earth; of course you don't need food, because you devour human's pure and beautiful souls!"

_She never ceases to amaze me with her hyperactive and hilarious imagination_, Reino thought in a barely concealed amusement. "You're being cruel, Kyoko," he said, starting to walk towards her casually. "And you mentioned something interesting; I devour human souls, you say? So you want me to devour yours?"

She could feel her entire being shudder in fear and disgust. Her eyes flicked in panic towards the interior of the supermarket. _Kuon, where are you? Hurry up and come here!_

As if the gods were answering her prayer, the tall actor walked out of the shop with a trolley in tow. He smiled at Kyoko before noticing the silver-haired singer. A scowl instantly formed on his face. "What do you want, Stalker?" he growled.

Reino flinched slightly, but decided to man up – while taking a half step back, which was unnoticed by both actors. "I just wanted to buy my dinner. Miroku's out with a woman who knows who, so I'm left to take care of it by myself."

"Can't you go somewhere not here?"

"Why should I when I live in this building?" the violet-eyed man replied with a little shrug. He smirked. "What, the demon feeling protective over the lost lamb? That's unusual."

Kyoko's and Kuon's eyes widened. _He lived here?!_

"Who cares about being unusual?" Kuon snarled at the singer. "I swear, you creep, if you dare move even one finger on Kyoko–"

"Kyoko-san? Tsuruga?"

The couple snapped their head at the direction of the familiar voice, and easily found Kento, Kuu, and Julie strolling towards them.

"You done with shopping?" Kuu asked them. "We didn't have anything to do at Kisaki's office, so we decided to go back and help you with–"

"AHHH!" Kento's exclamation of surprise cut the Hollywood actor short. The artist pointed at the silver-haired man. "You're that lecher!"

_Crap, it's the father that punched me the other day_, Reino scowled inwardly. _Now the demon has doubled in number._

"Lecher?" Julie repeated in confusion, demanding Kento for an explanation with her eyes.

"The worst one at that," the Uehara replied. "Not only he insinuated that I was gay, he even had the ball to confess that he had defiled my daughter–"

The Hizuri couple quickly saw red. It only took seconds for Kuu to grab Reino on his collar and slammed him against the wall in rage. "HOW DARE YOU SULLY MY DAUGHTER!"

"What?" Reino choked in confusion. "Kyoko has two fathers?" _Scratch that; the demon has _tripled _in number._

"Not your business, you scum," Julie spat beside her husband, her anger evident in her sweet honeyed voice and a fake smile. "Now, Kuu darling, what shall we do to him?"

Kento jumped in to the conversation. "If I can make a suggestion, let's beat him half to death."

"I like that idea," Kuu hummed. "After that we can give him to Natsuko or Diego; they'll love it for sure."

"Natsuko? Diego?"

"Boss' pet anaconda and falcon," the Hizuri patriarch answered. "May be Yogi the bear and Xiao Mei the panda would love to have a piece of meat – no, wait, Xiao Mei is vegetarian. Rajah the tiger, then."

_He seriously memorized all of Boss' pets' names? _Kuon stared at his father in both awe and disbelief. _I can't even remember more than 5!_

Reino paled at the ideas. _They're seriously going to hurt me?! Although the idea of being dead eaten is not that scary–_

"I don't care who they are anymore!" Julie groaned, snapping Reino from his thoughts. "But before you guys beat him to death, can I castrate him first?" She cracked her knuckles ready.

The singer's face became paler. _Please not that! That's the worst pain ever known! How come I'm now surrounded by devils?! Compared to these three, Tsuruga Ren looks almost like an innocent human being!_

Kuu suddenly cursed under his breath. "No, we can't; not after we just attended the court for violence charges. That won't be funny at all; especially after you, Julie dear, just testified to the court that you sent some punches at the damn woman."

"You're right," Kento sighed in dissatisfaction. "I certainly don't want to lose the custody and be thrown to jail."

"My sentiment exactly," Kuu said. He then gaped at the artist – his grip on Reino's neck loosened in results. "I thought you don't really care whether you get the custody or not."

"I do; I'm just still looking for alternatives with Saena."

Julie's jaws dropped. "You're seriously thinking to share the custody?"

"I apologize first to butt in," Kuon said suddenly with a frown, while Kyoko looked at Reino scampering away, "But I think your prey is escaping."

"Let him be," his father mumbled before shouting at the silver-haired man, "YOU DARE BEING IN 30 MILES RADIUS FROM KYOKO, AND I SWEAR I'M GOING TO BEAT YOUR ASS AND FEED YOU TO… To… CAESAR THE LION!"

Kuon rolled his eyes. "The President doesn't have a lion."

"Yet," Kuu added. "I'll ask him to get one if this prick so dares to have anything to do with Kyoko again."

"DON'T FORGET THE CASTRATION!" Julie shouted towards the humiliated singer.

At that moment, Reino seriously did not know who the worst devil among them was.

* * *

"This is a problem," Kisaki huffed. "Why didn't Kyoko-san tell us that the Fuwas have guardianship over her, appointed by Mogami Saena?"

"May be she just didn't know," Seijuro said. "Do you think you can find any loophole, Eri-chan?"

"It'll be difficult. Unless we can prove that the guardianship isn't legal, we can't win the custody over Kyoko-san. Suing them with working an underage person won't work either, because they have the guardianship and used the money earned to pay her tuition and living expenses, and according to Shinozawa-san, Kyoko-san was more than happy to work at the _ryokan_."

Marina frowned. "That is what I find bizarre. Normally, the guardian will be the one to provide the child if they are able, and looking at Sho's resume when he first auditioned, Fuwa _ryokan_ looked prosperous. Why then did they have to make Kyoko-san work if they did not need her to do so?"

"They can always say that she was just helping out."

"I am not yet finished," Marina continued. "The guardian does not have to provide for the child if the parents are able to do so, even if they are not able to be present in the child's life. That is what usually happens, if I am not mistaken."

It was like a light bulb just turned on inside Kisaki's mind. "Marina, you're a genius."

"Glad that I can help," the younger Akatoki said in a casual tone.

"Seriously, Marina, you should stop writing stories for children storybooks for once and write a crime novel instead. It'll be a success."

"That, I refuse to do. Where is the excitement of free imagination when I have to stick to the logic all the time?"

Seijuro snickered. He knew that the lawyer could not fathom with his sister's imagination – which always involved unearthly beings and things that were basically not logical.

"Anyway," Kisaki dismissed the topic about Marina's genres. "I think I can make this work now."

* * *

**A/N: Reino, seriously, Tsuruga Ren is indeed a human being (*roll eyes).**

**He's not supposed to appear here, but I was so tempted to write something about him after his confrontation with Kento in Chapter 4. And he looks kind of OOC, but what do you guys think?**

**Additional Disclaimer:  
-I do not own Yogi the bear. It's solely copyrighted to Hanna-Barbera Productions.  
-I do not own Xiao Mei the panda either; Arakawa Hiromu does. And please note that I'm only borrowing the name - Lory's panda (if he does own one) is a normal-sized adult panda.  
-I do not own Rajah the tiger as well - Disney does.  
-And I forgot to mention this in the previous chapters: Sho's appearance in this state is only my imagination. You get the picture. 'Super Saiyan' - which is owned by Toriyama Akira - is the whole perfect description for it.**

**A lot of people may think that you're considered an adult in Japan if you're 18 years of age. NO! The majority consent age in Japan is 20 (and now I have to live with that fact).**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


	20. Crisis -Closing In-

**As usual, thank you for all of you guys who faved, followed, and reviewed the previous chapters! I'm really sorry that I couldn't reply at all for those who reviewed, so here we go! A special space of review replies!**

**kaitlynchosenisme, chocolaty, Angeline G. McFellou, xXimmortalXx, animemanga luvr, and onliafaze: Glad that you guys love it :) Thanks for reviewing again and again.**

**mrs. zala: You'll probably strangle me after this chapter, but please don't.**

**dancingfingers: Wow. You didn't really fall from your bed, did you? Or else I'll worry more about your head - a big chance that you'd get hit on it if you did fall - but I'm glad that you like the appearance of Reino and Lory's zoo - albeit not direct appearance. I wonder since when my story slipped into the comedy genre.**

**Anon: Although Ren's a bit OOC, thank you for liking my story. I'll tell him to watch himself from slipping out of the gentleman persona.**

**Matelia-legwll: Oops, typo. Thank you for telling me; I'll fix it first chance I get.**

**Now, onto the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Skip-Beat!**

* * *

Chapter 20: Crisis ~Closing In~

When Kyoko and Ren arrived at the court with Kento and Marina the next morning, two hours before the hearing commenced, the front entrance of the court building had already been packed with flashing cameras.

"KYOKO-san, is it true that your parents are both appealing custody over you?"

"KYOKO-san, we've heard that your mother was involved in a violent conduct just to see you; can you comment on that?"

"Your mother abandoned you when you were little; are you willing to let her get the custody if the court rules so?"

"KYOKO-san!"

"KYOKO-san!"

Feeling that the chattering would not stop even after she made it safely into the building, Kyoko was surprised when the reporters suddenly froze at their place without saying any other word, staring at something behind her with pale faces.

Turning around to see the object of their current attention, the girl's surprise turned towards the mild side as she spotted Yashiro glaring silently at them while a taxi drove off behind him. The bespectacled man strode towards her and her family – and boyfriend – still glaring.

"Thank you for coming, Yashiro-san," the chestnut brown-haired actress said gratefully.

"It's no problem, Kyoko-chan," Yashiro said nonchalantly. "I'm here to give you my support, after all. Now, why don't we go in?"

* * *

Unknown for them, a pair of dark eyes was focused on Kento with dread.

Feeling like being watched, the artist flicked his golden eyes towards the direction of the person he thought was watching him.

He could swear that he saw a glimpse of Saena before she ran away to a corner.

Instantly, he chased after her – earning a look from his daughter and her escorts – hoping to catch up to her and have a proper long talk. As he turned to the corner where he had seen her run into, she had vanished.

Meanwhile not far away, Saena was trying her best to not lose control over her raging impulses that always took over every time she saw that pair of golden orbs. She knew that when she had appealed for custody over her daughter, she had had to prepare herself to see those abominable ochre eyes of hers. Never had she thought that she would have to look at _that_ particular pair of golden eyes that soon.

The memories from the old times came back to her like a flashflood, and the feeling of being loved tenderly only to be betrayed severely made her sob-screaming.

* * *

The hearing was not that interesting to the younger of the Akatoki siblings. Her niece of course was asked to testify by Kisaki against the claim made by Kitami that his client had not ever once neglect the girl.

"I was left in Fuwa _ryokan_ when I was eight by my mother," the actress said – although she knew she was bored already. Repeating the same story again and again made her feel like a robot looking for sympathy from other people. "And she never came back ever since. I then helped around in the _ryokan_ while going to school, until I went to Tokyo when I was 16 – 2 years ago."

"And no contact whatsoever from your mother?" the judge asked before Kisaki managed to.

"No, as far as I know."

And Kisaki was not surprised at all when Kitami had called Fuwa Kotoko to testify on the witness stand. The _okami _of Fuwa _ryokan_ – being Saena's friend – told the court that Saena had always sent them some money for Kyoko's school fee and living needs.

When Kisaki cross-examined the elegant Kyoto woman and asked her why, if Saena had provided for Kyoko, the girl had had to work in the _ryokan_, the answer was rather expected.

"She asked to be taught on how to work in the _ryokan_."

Of course, Kyoko – with a sheepish flush and small grin on her face – had not been able to refute that statement.

"But she did indeed work at your place, didn't she, Fuwa-san?" Kisaki asked sharply.

"Well, yes–"

"Then how come she has never received a paycheck from you?"

"My husband and I have thought of her as a family, so–"

"So you thought it was meaningless to give her a proper payment for her work," the female lawyer continued the sentence rather abruptly. "You know, Fuwa-san, there is a logic that I can't fathom from your statement so far. You said Mogami Saena-san sent money for Kyoko-san's needs, correct?"

The woman clad in the silk traditional kimono gulped. "Yes, I did say so."

"Then actually you didn't have to make her work in the _ryokan_, right? Why did she have to work, then?"

"I have told you already–"

"She's practically a guest in your residence; you're not supposed to make her work – serving older customers that couldn't be trusted at that."

Sho's mother's eyes narrowed at Kisaki. "For your information, Kisaki-san," she hissed in irritation, angered that her dignity and professionalism were trampled by the queen of the law court. "I was always by her side everytime she was in the room with the patrons."

"Which still doesn't answer my initial question," Kisaki said. "Why did she have to work, then?"

"She is like family to me! Isn't it natural for me to teach my family everything I can about the family's business?"

The bespectacled woman raised one eyebrow at the witness. "Apparently, you did not teach your own son about the said business."

"Is it my fault that the boy didn't want to listen at all?" Kotoko screeched in irritation. "I had no choice but to train Kyoko-chan, whom I have hoped to be his bride, so that they can inherit the _ryokan_ and manage it properly in the future!"

Julie – who, along with her husband, had insisted to come to the hearing and give her support to Kyoko – growled under her breath, "She has no right to decide my baby girl's future!"

"Your Honor!" Kitami protested. "I believe Kisaki-san is harassing the witness."

"I agree," the judge mumbled. "Kisaki-san, I know that you think you're going somewhere in your favor, but can you please tone it down?"

"I beg your pardon, Your Honor," Kisaki said grimly. "Putting the issue of your heir aside, Fuwa-san, do you have the proof that Mogami Saena-san has sent that money all these years? Bank slips, letters, book keeping, anything?"

The witness blanched in terror. Everyone in the court almost could not make it out when she murmured a 'No'.

* * *

Some time when Kotoko was screaming on the witness stand about her stupid son, the said son sneezed loudly in his booth in Akatoki Agency office building.

"Sho-chan, are you okay?" Nanokura Mimori asked him in an obvious worry on her face. "Are you catching a cold?"

Sniffing and rubbing his nose, Sho scowled. "Someone must be talking about me somewhere." _I bet it must be that pinhead actor and Kyoko_.

Speaking of Kyoko, he remembered immediately his conversation with Saena the previous day. An unpleasant chill quickly went up his spine.

_If Shoko didn't interfere yesterday, I really don't know whether I would still be alive right now_, he thought, shivering – which Mimori interpreted as him having the chill from being sick with flu.

Sho always knew that Mogami Saena was someone who he could never mess with, but he had never imagined that the woman could be _that _scary. And to be honest, he found it rather ridiculous that Saena had been so worked up over the fact that Kyoko had been living in Tokyo and working as an actress.

Every mother should be proud of her daughter's achievement, especially the ones that were difficult to achieve. And for Sho – albeit grudgingly – being a popular actress in a short time counted as one.

Apparently, not for Saena.

One sentence from Saena had struck him as uncanny, but he had not decided to pay attention to that. And now, when he tried to remember, he could not get anything from his memories about the dreadful encounter with the 'scary aunty'.

But, not able to shove the bad feeling from his mind, he decided to call Kyoko.

It rang three times before his call was picked up. To Sho's dismay, his childhood friend was not the one who answered the phone.

"Hello?" a deep baritone, gentleman-like voice greeted.

The bottle-blonde's scowl appeared once again. "Tsuruga."

"Fuwa," the reply was as venomous albeit sounded sweet. "What do you want?"

"I have to talk to Kyoko. This is important."

"She can't answer right now. If it's that important, just tell me, and depending on what you want to talk about, I can forward the message to her," Ren said smoothly – and Sho could imagine the dark-haired actor smiling gentlemanly over the phone as if they were talking face to face. "However, make it quick; the recess is almost ending."

_Recess?_ Sho asked in the back of his mind. _Oh, yeah, right, they're having another hearing today. _"How's it going so far with the hearing?"

There was a hesitant pause from the other side of the phone – which meant that Ren was caught off-guard by the sincerity in the singer's question. "It's going in our favor, that's all I can say. Your mother's here, by the way, just letting you know."

_Geh_. "Anyway, Tsuruga, what I want to say to Kyoko," Sho brought the conversation back into the track once again. "Just be careful of her mother. I talked to her yesterday."

He could hear a soft gasp. "Do you know where she is?" Ren asked him sharply.

"How should I know?" the younger man replied in annoyance. "And I don't want to see her again, ever. I know she's crazy, but she looked like she wanted blood in her hands."

It was silent for a few seconds before Sho heard a grunt of 'Thanks'.

When he closed his cell phone, he was rather caught off-guard himself when he saw Mimori tearing up in front of him. Hesitantly, he asked, "Err… Pochiri, is something wrong?"

"It's always KYOKO!" the girl wailed. "Sho-chan is always talking about KYOKO! Even when you have Mimori here! Why is it always her?!"

"Pochiri–"

"That time during the PV, even though you said that you two were enemies, you always had your eyes on her! You even forgot the script when you saw her cry, even when you knew it was just acting! And then on Valentine's Day, you k-k-_KISSED HER!_ Even when you have Mimoriiiii!"

Not knowing what else to do, Sho did what he always did – drawing the busty black-haired girl into his arms.

Unfortunately, this time it failed miserably as the model kept screaming against his chest. "And then you asked me to cuff her so that you could talk to her in private! THAT HURT, YOU KNOW! Even when you have Mimoriiii!"

"Pochiri, listen to me–"

"And then you confessed to the media and humiliated yourself!"

That struck him right on the sensitive, healing part of his heart.

"Sho-chan, you _baka_, _baka_, _baka_!"

He finally used his final resort. Mimori was immediately silenced when he locked his lips with hers.

Someone cleared his throat and caught Sho's attention. When he pulled away from Mimori and turned his head to look at the newcomer, he froze when he saw Akatoki Seijuro at the doorway.

"Wow, Sho-kun," the older Akatoki shook his head with a smile. "You're such a player, aren't you? You got rejected by my niece, and now you have a new girlfriend already? That's great!"

And the boss left the employee gaping with a girl swooning in his arms.

* * *

"In the end, Mogami Saena didn't come, huh?" Kisaki mumbled, patting Kitami's shoulder in sympathy. "It's been hard on you."

A bit afar from the attorneys at law, Kento stared at them silently. _She did come, you know, although I didn't know where she went to._

"At least all of it's over now," the other lawyer sighed tiredly. "I just have to persevere until we wrap up the violence conduct charge. And somehow, I'm kind of glad that I lost this custody appeal. I won't entrust such a sweet girl as KYOKO-san to a labile woman such as my client. Although I'm sure that whichever the judge's decision was, the media is going to have a picnic."

Kisaki crossed her arms against her chest. "Then why did you receive it in the first place?"

"Well, she came to me with signs of being punched all over her body–"

_Courtesy of Marina-chan_, Kisaki noted grimly.

"–and when she told me she wanted to appeal for custody over the phone, she sounded desperate. Of course I accepted the case. But when she met me the next day, she was cold, distant, and it scared me to hell when she suddenly bolted out of the office when I pointed at her daughter on TV."

"You've told me that one," the bespectacled brunette said.

Kitami sighed again. "She looked sick, you know? Not physically, I mean, aside from the small injuries here and there."

"You mean mentally, then."

"Yeah," he replied. "And I'm totally curious about what have happened in her life that such a middle class woman can be so stressed like that."

Kisaki hummed absently. _Mentally sick, huh?_

* * *

Saena was completely enraged when Kitami called her and said that they had lost the custody.

Abruptly ending the call with a harsh push on the 'End' button, she quickly strode towards her bedside table and grabbed her memo – which contained Kyoko's schedule up to the end of the week.

The one that had to bring the end to all of this mess, apparently, had to be herself.

* * *

Once again, Sayaka was comfortable in her Victorian-like dress, walking and twirling around in sultry excitement. Sometimes, she would look at the camera seductively, taunting everyone that dared to claim themselves more beautiful than she was.

"KYOKO-chan, lift your skirt up a bit! Show us some legs!" Sugimoto Karen yelled a bit, her eyes sticking to the actress through her trusted camera. "Step onto the roses! Now just peek over here!"

On the side, Yoshimoto just looked at the hectic scene in front of him. _Must be hard being the photographer_, he thought, staring at Karen who was practically shouting her throat hoarse.

The photographer then shouted again. "Ok, KYOKO-chan, take thirty! Wardrobe! Kazuha-chan!"

"Coming!" a very tall woman with short black hair replied instantly, walking towards Kyoko. "KYOKO-chan, come over here to get changed, okay?"

"Okay," Kyoko answered, immediately following Kazuha towards the changing room.

Once the door was closed, the beautician quickly opened the zip to Kyoko's dress and then let the girl get out of the apparel while she grabbed the next outfit. The chiffon was not less grandiose than the previous one – ruffled long bell skirt with simple, flexible petticoat, corseted torso, one long ruffled sleeve while the other arm was sleeveless, and cotton carnations lining from the bare shoulder to the skirt where it then flared up to reveal the messily stitched up white fishnet stockings.

Kazuha whistled in awe. She knew that Fujisawa Eiko had something special about gothic in her heart, but this one looked completely–

"This is so emo!" she exclaimed with a goofy smile. "I bet the image is a vampire princess turning into an incubus! So sexy! I mean, look at all this black, golden, red, and white! KYOKO-chan, hurry up and put this on! I'm dying to see you in this!"

Kyoko giggled breathlessly and with Kazuha's help shrugged into the petticoat that came to halt around her petite waist. Next, the ravenette bent down and spread the wide skirt around on the floor. Kyoko stepped into it and the older woman efficiently pulled the whole gown up her body. The actress had to hold her breath when the beautician tied the corset on her back.

After the elaborate gown was safely tucked onto her body, Kyoko was directed towards the seat in front of the mirror while Kazuha prepared her equipments.

The foundation and face powder were applied a little, but evenly on her face. Next, sparkling silver with glitters was spread on both of her eyelids, followed by black eyeliner. Kyoko could feel Kazuha applying nude blush onto her cheeks and maroon lipstick and clear gloss onto her lips.

The tall woman's hands glided gracefully over her hair – pulling the blonde wig off her chestnut brown locks and straightening the shorter hair before putting intricate bandana adorned with small bead crown, feathers, and pearls.

"Oh, no," Kazuha said suddenly, gaining Kyoko's attention. "I'm running out of hairspray, and now I have to go to my car to pick up my spare."

"Can't we just leave the hair like this?" Kyoko asked, eyeing her hairdo. "I mean, this is really good."

The older woman groaned. "No; Karen told me specifically to make it spike out on the back against the neck. Well, I can always call Maki to get here and bring me the spray, but I don't think it'll hold up until he comes. And it'll get difficult to get it back to the places I want it to be." She put down the curler in her hands onto the dressing table and turned towards the door. "I'll be back shortly, KYOKO-chan."

The golden-eyed girl sweat-dropped when she could hear Kazuha dashing towards the parking lot as if her life depended on it.

Not long after, the door opened again. Kyoko raised one eyebrow in surprise. "Kazuha-san, that was quick–"

Her eyes widened when she saw her mother in front of her, murder lurking beneath the dark eyes.

* * *

**Shorter than usual, I know, but this is going according to my planning :p And with this chapter, 'The Next Episode' is ending soon.**

**Additional Disclaimer:  
-I do not own Kisaki Eri, Aoyama Gosho-sensei does.  
-I do not own Sugimoto Karen, Sugimoto/Akiyoshi Kazuha, and Sugimoto Maki, Hidaka Banri-sensei does.**

**Please review :) Thank you!**


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